WAITING TOO LONG
by TheSilentPartner
Summary: Gil and Sara have been working together for three years now, dancing around their feelings, avoiding commitments and making everyone miserable in the process. Gil finally decides to do something about it. Yes, this is a composite of several episodes, but it is RATED M for a reason! ENJOY AND PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU LIKE IT!
1. Chapter 1

**WAITING TOO LONG**

After the unfortunate accident in the lab, Sara experiences a strange confusion. She'd been right there when the lab blew up, but she received only a few minor cuts. It didn't seem right that Greg had been so seriously injured and she'd walked away with a few stitches and a ringing in her ears. With all the commotion and chaos going on Grissom found her, sitting on the curb out front. She'd been dazed from the blast, with her cut hand cradled in her lap. Grissom knelt beside her, very concerned as he gently examined her hand. Then, he'd called her 'honey' and insisted she get her hand looked at. His concern... his worry and his gentle endearment all stuck out in Sara's memory, much more than the accident itself.

The next day, with her hand bandaged, Sara was back at work. CSI's carried weapons and were trained how to use them. Sara knew protocol was to wait outside until the room had been cleared of hostile suspects by the police, but while on a call with Captain Brass, her adrenaline urged her to follow them inside. The others were in other parts of the house and she held back, turning instead to a little room off the main entrance. When the door suddenly opened Sara came face to face with a very dangerous suspect.

"Freeze! Get your hands up! NOW!" She held the suspect at gunpoint until the others returned to take custody of him.

Brass was angry and barely waited until the man had been handcuffed before he stepped up to Sara, glaring at her. "Holster your weapon!" When she complied, he told her exactly what he thought of her reckless attitude. "Sara, what the hell were you thinking?! You know CSI stays back until everything is cleared! You do not go hot-dogging it on your own! And don't think Grissom isn't going to hear about this either... you could have been killed!"

She couldn't see what harm had been done. She'd located the suspect, used her weapons training and kept the suspect from getting away. No one else had been covering the front entrance... what was she supposed to do? She knew there would be repercussions when Grissom heard about it. She was preparing to defend her actions and if that didn't work she had a back up plan. At the end of shift, she was still riding the adrenaline high from earlier; feeling invincible as she made her way to his office.

It had been the week from hell with the lab explosion, all the contaminated evidence issues, the sheriff hounding Grissom for someone to blame and now Brass's complaint about Sara going all _Kamikaze_ on him. When she stops in his doorway he isn't up for another fight so he downplays his concern over her behavior.

"Sara... I heard you think you're invincible."

"No... not really."

"Well, please... don't take risks like that again, okay? We don't need another dead CSI."

His reaction, though showing concern hadn't been as severe as she'd anticipated and she has to wonder why. As he gathers up his briefcase to leave for the night she decides to take a chance, drawing on her newfound courage. "Grissom?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want to have dinner with me?"

About to walk past her in the doorway, there is a long tense silence as Gil's eyes meet hers. He sees her nervous daring and is taken by surprise. Unprepared to answer in a politically correct manner his confusion is apparent. "Aaahhh, no..."

"Come on... let's have dinner... see what happens." Again there is a long pause as she studies his frowning face, hoping he'll say yes.

Gil knows there is no way to answer without hurting her so he just sighs tiredly and admits, "Sara... I... I don't know what to do... about this."

He motions a finger from himself to her, indicating the situation between them that has been brewing ever since she came here. Sara frowns and his rejection hurts her deeply. She took a chance in asking him and now she can't hold back her emotions.

"Well I do, and you know... by the time you figure it out... it really could be too late. Here..."

She hands him the memo she'd been holding in her hand, then waits tensely as he scans the paper. Shock crosses his face as his eyes dart up to hers again. "Sara, what is this?!"

"I... I'd appreciate it if you'd just sign off on that."

"It's a leave of absence request."

"Yeah... I... It's just not working out for me here, Grissom."

Their eyes hold for a long moment and he knows she is referring to the personal tension between them. He doesn't quite know what to say. "But..."

Sara rushes on to cover his confusion. "Six months, maybe a year. I just want to take

some time off to look into some other options."

"Such as?" The tension in his voice is unmistakable.

"The state lab... the FBI's facility... there are lots of other labs."

"Sara, you know we've got the best lab in the state... maybe even in the country, right here."

"Yea, well, there are other considerations."

"Like what?"

"Like if you don't grant my leave of absence... I'll just turn in my resignation. It's up to you... I just can't work here under these conditions any more." She turns away as her voice cracks under the stress of finally telling him how much it hurts her to continue working here.

Gil takes a step towards her, but restrains himself from touching her, "Sara?" She turns back to him, hoping he'll finally say the words she's been longing to hear. As their eyes hold his words are weak and vague as usual, "This lab needs you."

"The lab needs me? Great." With this she turns on her heal and walks off so he won't

see the tears clouding her vision.

Gil knows he's once again hurt her and sighs, running a tired hand down over his face.

Exhausted and angry at himself for not controlling the situation between them better; he

turns off the lights and heads for the nearest exit.

The next evening was their normal night off and Gil is having dinner at his place with Catherine. He used the excuse of needing to talk to her about the lab explosion, but the truth was... he enjoyed her company. They were close friends and he could talk to her about anything... well, almost. She understood him and she knew when to keep her thoughts to herself. A woman who knew how to listen was rare... but one who knew how to give good advise was even more precious.

Gil seems tense and Catherine has a good idea why. The lab investigation, Greg's injury and all the hassles over contaminated evidence were one thing, but Gil could handle that. She'd heard about Sara's ultimatum yesterday, having run into her in the locker room right after it happened. Sara hadn't said much, just that she'd turned in a request for leave. It didn't take a genius to know what was making her so unhappy. Everyone on their team knew how she felt about Grissom... except maybe Gil.

She smiles as she watches him chopping mushrooms. Few people knew what a gourmet cook he was, and he liked to keep it that way. She busies herself fixing them each a drink as she tries to decide how to bring up the topic. She figured he wanted to talk... Sara usually came up every time they had dinner. She finally slides his glass across the counter to him.

"Should I have made yours a double?"

"No, why?"

"I heard about you and Sara yesterday. Pretty tense, huh?"

"You know Sara... she's... very emotional." Gil is purposely being vague, downplaying what happened between them so Catherine takes a more direct approach. She can't believe he's unaware of Sara's feelings for him and shakes her head in disbelief. "Gil?! Are you in denial?!"

His head comes up abruptly, frowning at her accusation. Catherine immediately realizes this isn't the right approach with a man like Gil and quickly backs down. She holds up a hand in defense and shakes her head as she revises her statement. "I'm sorry...that was way too analytical."

Gil quirks an eyebrow at her to indicate he agrees and then lowers his eyes to resume chopping. Catherine watches him for a long moment, sipping her drink as she realizes what his problem might be.

"Wow... you must have really been burned bad, huh?"

Again his eyes come up to give her a cautionary glare, warning her not to go there. She once again raises her hand in a defensive motion, then turns it to herself and justifies her statement.

"Welcome to the club. I got third degree burns when my marriage ended. But you've got to let it go... move on."

"Right... let's move on, shall we?" He keeps his head down, chopping so she won't be able to look too deeply into his emotional state. Her words have hit home and its something he's never discussed with anyone before. He hopes she'll take the hint and let it go, but by now Catherine is committed to making him come to terms with it.

"No! You can't just move on... you have to deal with it! You have to deal with it before it tears you apart."

"Catherine... Please..."

"Look, Gil... We don't have to go to the Grand Tetons together, okay? But we both know when it comes to people... you hide in your work. You're the boss... and everyone looks up to you. They follow your example. They connect with you... even if you don't want them to. I'm not saying we need to hold group therapy sessions, but..."

She is getting passionate about her topic, trying to convince him of the need to connect on a human level. Her excitement increases and Gil stops chopping to watch her. When their eyes meet across the counter, she reaches out to him, but stops short of actually touching him. She now sighs in frustration and brings her voice back down to a conversational level.

"Every once in a while... you gotta pick your head up from that microscope and take a look around... see who you're hurting when you isolate yourself."

Their eyes hold for a long moment and her hand stays suspended between them as if hoping he'll reach out to her. He senses her offer, but resists the urge to take her hand as he sighs heavily and admits, "Yeah... I know."

"Yeah..." She decides she's pushed him enough for one day and reluctantly lowers her arm to cradle the drink in her hands. She takes a sip, while holding his eyes a moment longer, then gives him an encouraging smile and walks into the adjoining living room. She knows him well and he now needs time alone to analyze what she's said.

He watches her go, knowing she once again knew exactly what his problem was and gave him good advise... even if she did push a bit too much. Then again, maybe he needed a push. He was on the verge of losing a great CSI and he couldn't let that happen. He lays his knife down and reaches for his address book. He thumbs through it for a number, then grabs the phone.

Catherine reclines on his sofa, sipping her drink and watching him. She hadn't meant he needed to do anything right this minute, but maybe he was willing to deal with it quicker than she imagined. She listens as he now orders a plant for Sara; having it delivered to the station on their next day back to work. When the florist asks what sentiment he wants on the card, Catherine watches the confusion and worry play across his face.

"The sentiment? Aahh... have it say... uhm... have it say... well... have it say... from Grissom."


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

A couple of days later, Gil assigns Sara to work with him on a death case. She has been very sullen since their last meeting, waiting to see if he'll sign her leave request. The fact that he's been carrying on like nothing happened between them makes her even more uncomfortable around him. She has no way of knowing if he's angry, disappointed, or just relieved she wants out. When he assigned her to work with him, Sara figured he just didn't trust her to work alone after her behavior of the last few days. Her confidence has taken a severe blow after Grissom turned her down and she didn't have the energy left to confront him.

They are now seated in the bleachers of an ice hockey arena, going over the previous night's game notes to find some reason for the death of one of the players. Gil tries to stay focused on the notes as Sara sits a noticeable distance from him, staring out over the ice as if she can't bear to look at him. Gil had done a lot of serious thinking and came to the conclusion he had to do what-ever he could to make Sara stay. Gil decided to make some subtle changes. The plant had been the first and Sara saw that for what it was... a peace offering. He glances at her briefly, then continues to read from the notes.

"Ten minutes for high-sticking, five minutes for penalty plays... four times, twenty minutes for attacking another player..."

"Boys will be boys."

"Looks like they came for a fight and a hockey game broke out."

"You just don't like sports."

"That's not true... I've been a baseball fan all my life."

"Baseball, that figures... all those numbers and stats." She isn't rude or obstinate, but her comments leave no doubt she isn't happy with him.

Gil darts a quick glance at her profile, noting her sarcasm. He ignores her attitude and simply shrugs as he continues, "What can I say, it's a beautiful game."

"Since when have you been interested in beauty?"

"Since I met you."

Unsure she heard him, Sara quickly looks over to him, but Gil has his head down, studying the notes. Her surprise is obvious, but he doesn't give her a chance to comment as he quickly moves on. "I've divided the ice into quadrants. You take east and work to center... I'll do the same from the west. Okay?"

"Aahh... yeah, okay."

He gets up and heads down the stairs towards the ice. Sara stays seated for a long moment, confused more than ever. Had he really said she was beautiful? By the time she pulls herself together he is almost to the ice and turns to see what is keeping her. Sara jumps to her feet, blushing at having been caught in a daze. Gil knows his comment knocked her for a loop and turns back to the ice with a private smile. They work the case for the next couple of days and Gil never again makes any comments which might indicate something personal.

When the case of the murdered nurse comes in a couple of weeks later, the whole team works it. They all wait outside for Grissom to complete his initial walk through of the crime scene. When he finally gives out the assignments, he seems disturbed. Sara is relegated to the outside perimeter, which shocks her because she and Grissom have been working so well together. What she doesn't know is this murder victim looks like her twin sister. Grissom is just trying to protect her from seeing herself lying on the bathroom floor in a pool of blood.

Catherine works the interior with him and sees the resemblance immediately. She notices Gil stopping to simply stare at the body several times. She gently refocuses his attention to keep him from getting too wrapped up in this case. He works around the clock... in some bazaar way protecting Sara by finding the nurse's killer. Catherine knows Sara is upset at being kept out of the crime scene and tries to explain it to her one night after Sara had been sent to process the body in the morgue. Cleaned up by then, Sara saw the resemblance. She now understands why Grissom kept her out of the scene.

When Gil interviews Doctor Lurey, the killer, he has been on this case non-stop for over forty-eight hours with no sleep. He is tired and his nerves are on end because they really don't have enough to hold this guy for what he did. Captain Brass is just about to let him walk out when Gil finally speaks to the doctor on a personal level.

"It's sad, isn't it, Doc? Guys like us... two men who dedicated their lives to their careers. We

never touch another person unless we're wearing our latex gloves. And then one day we wake up and realize for fifty years we haven't really lived at all. Then we're given another chance. A beautiful woman comes along and offers us a chance at a new life... but do we risk it all in order to have that life? You did... and she showed you a wonderful life, didn't she? But then she took it away and gave it to someone else... so you took her life."

Gil's emotional speech is enough to break through the doctor's tough exterior and his eyes flood with tears as he nods his head and huskily confesses, "Yes... I did, but I'm still here."

"I couldn't do it... I love her enough to..."

"Then I pity you, Mr. Grissom."

"So do I, but I pity you more."

With this tears slide slowly down the doctor's cheeks and he turns to his lawyer. The other man just ushers him outside, not sure what to say or do for his client now. Brass moves to the door and motions for an officer to book Dr. Lurey. When they are gone, Gil looks sadly over to his friend. Brass knows who he was referring to in his own life. He has no words of comfort for his friend and leaves Gil alone with his thoughts. Gil stares down at his hands on the table, overwhelmed with regret for how he's handled his life. He sighs deeply and hangs his head in exhaustion; unaware Sara has been watching the interview through the one-way glass of the observation room. She heard his speech and her heart fills with love, knowing he meant her. She now understands the wall between them... even if she doesn't know how to knock it down.

Grissom avoids Sara for the rest of the week, feeling too vulnerable after that case. Catherine as always is his shield and he takes her with him on every case. Giving Sara assignments with Nick or Warrick. She's wanted independent assignments, but now, she'd give anything to be back working with Grissom. During their time apart, Sara does a lot of thinking about what he said. It confirms her fantasy that began in San Francisco... he was attracted to her. She just didn't know how to get around this huge obstacle between them.

Sara is currently working a murder case where a young woman was raped and stabbed in her bed. The case is upsetting because the police may have rushed things and arrested the wrong man. Everyone is hurrying to process the evidence. Sara has hung the bloody sheet up in the evidence room, staring at the patterns on it in the hopes something will jump out at her. They've already confirmed the suspect left car wax on the victim's wrists and sheets, but how did it get there? She is totally engrossed in envisioning the struggle in her mind, matching it to the patterns on the sheet when Gil walks by.

He also stares at the sheet for several minutes before he asks, "What are you thinking?"

"The blood stains on the sheet... there's a void..."

"Made by?"

"Her body... here... and here, but..." She motions to the sheet and then the solution comes to her. She turns her back to the sheet, facing Grissom as she looks him in the eye for the first time. Their eyes hold for a moment before she raises her arms in a defensive manner between them. "Pin me down."

Gil hesitates only a moment, then raises his hands up to grab Sara gently by the wrists. They stand in front of the sheet, but don't actually touch it as she slowly moves her arms up and down to simulate struggle. She glances over her shoulder at the sheet and explains, "At first... she struggled with him... while he held her down."

"Which accounts for the wax found on her wrists."

"Then... she stops struggling... and gives up..." She stops moving her arms, but Gil doesn't let go of her wrists. She glances from the sheet to him and their eyes lock for a long moment. "When he got up... he used his hands for leverage on the bed."

"Placing his hands here..." He slowly lets go of her arms and lowers his hands to a position on either side of her waist. He holds them here, simulating pushing off the sheet to raise himself off her body.

"But the wax was under the blood stains. She wasn't bleeding after the rape."

"So, he came back to finish her off... after reality set in."

"Yeah."

Again they fall silent as the tension crackles between them. Sara still has her hands raised on either side of her head and can't put them down without touching him in some way. Gil doesn't notice her uncomfortable dilemma. They were discussing a horrible murder one minute and the next Sara's whole body is tingling at his nearness. Gil doesn't seem to be in any hurry to step back so she abruptly lowers her eyes and slips away from him. She slides out between him and the sheet and quickly steps away.

He turns to watch her go, confused as she stammers, "Grissom... I... there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Yes?"

With some distance between them now, Sara feels more in control, but still has to force herself to look him in the eye. "Last week... with the doctor... I heard you."

Gil sighs; it never occurred to him anyone was watching the interview from behind the glass. He shouldn't have said anything, but if he hadn't the doctor would have gotten away with murder. He holds her eyes now, knowing she understood. He decides to be honest and lowers his voice to a huskily level only she can hear.

"I'm sorry, Sara. I shouldn't have said that..."

"What you should do is... be honest with me... and yourself about this."

Gil is stunned by her statement and can only stare at her. Before his brain can recover, Catherine briskly walks in, looking for Grissom. Realizing she interrupted something she stops in surprise at the scene. "Hey, Grissom... You ready? Oops...?!"

They both turn, trying to appear calm, but the tension is obvious. Catherine looks from Sara's blushing cheeks to Gil's frown and knows she definitely interrupted something. She tries to hide her smile as she innocently asks, "Should I come back later?"

Gil glances from her to Sara, who turns away in embarrassment. He isn't prepared to explain what just happened so he doesn't even try. Instead he runs an agitated hand around the back of his neck and gives Catherine a warning glare.

Catherine chooses to ignore his warning and smugly asks, "You want me to go on ahead? Or are we canceling dinner?"

Gil clears his throat and gives Sara one more glance before he moves to the door. "No... let's go."

He hurries out ahead of Catherine, who gives Sara one last glance. She's curious about what happened, but doubts Sara is up to talking about it right now. For that matter, she doubts Gil will tell her what happened either. She sighs and hurries after him, feeling sorry for Sara.

Sara stands in the evidence room for a long time, stunned and hurt by his quick exit to be with Catherine. How could he stand here, admit he has feelings for her, and then calmly walk off to have dinner with Catherine?


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Over the next month Gil ignores Sara as much as possible, putting her on cases with others while he works solo. He doesn't even want Catherine around him right now... not when he's in such a turmoil. He tried letting a friendship develop between them, but that had been a disaster. His exhausted confession last week was seen by Sara as his admission of love... which it was, but it would have been much more embarrassing if Catherine had overheard him admit he loved her. Now, his feelings, which have been well hidden for years were too close to being revealed. It was just better to avoid all human contact.

Sara is upset by his abrupt reversal in attitude and has begun to drink more than usual. She hides it from the rest of the crew, but she's been drinking until she passes out every night. Then, Sara gets pulled over for drunk driving after she's been sitting in a bar alone trying to drown her sorrows. Luckily the cop knows her and cuts her a break. There is no arrest, but they do take her back to the station, where they insist on calling someone to come get her. She tells them there isn't anyone and to call her a taxi, but they call her boss instead.

Gil is still at work, clearing up some paperwork when the call comes in. When he arrives at the police station, Sara is seated in the waiting area, looking like her world has come to an end. Gil hesitates at the door, then comes in and sits down beside her. She refuses to look at him, not wanting to see the disapproval in his eyes. She is embarrassed and blames him for this. When she refuses to look at him, he reaches out to take her hand in his, holding it warmly as he offers silent comfort to her.

"Come on... I'll take you home."

Sara finally looks at him through her tears, but sees none of the condemnation she had expected. Instead she sees his sympathy, as if he understands exactly why she ended up here tonight. It breaks his heart to see her tears, but he knows to comfort her now would crack her tight control. He merely gives her hand a squeeze of support and stands up. She stands beside him reluctantly and they head out.

The next week is very tense for everyone, but Sara is on the verge of a break down. Sara has been snapping at everyone in her frustration and feels even worse for losing her temper with her friends. Catherine tries to talk to her about it in the locker room.

"You want to talk about it, Sara?"

"Talk about what?"

"Whatever has you so tied up in knots?"

Sara gives her a long, hard look and sees only a person she wishes she could be. A woman at ease with men. A woman who had the easy sexual charm to make men fall all over her. She doesn't think Catherine could possibly understand.

"There's nothing wrong with me, Catherine. Its people like you who think you can get ahead by batting your long eyelashes at the men around here. Hasn't it ever occurred to you that maybe just doing your job would be enough?! You don't have to seduce every man around here, you know!"

Sara suddenly slams her locker and storms out of the room, almost knocking over the assistant Lab Director, Conrad Eckley. Not caring he may have overheard her outburst, she pushes past him and rushes down the hall. Catherine just stands there staring with her mouth open. She is stunned Sara would say such cruel things to her... or that anyone here would think she used her charms to get promoted to supervisor last week. Or was Sara just in a jealous rage because she'd interrupted their intimate moment to take Grissom to dinner? Catherine thinks about it for a while and finally comes to the conclusion it must be Sara's jealousy talking. If not she would have said something to her long before now. Still, it hurts; she and Sara were friends. At least she thought they were?

Later that afternoon, Sara isn't surprised to receive a summons from Conrad Eckley. He wants to see her in his office immediately and she has no doubt what they'll talk about. It had been stupid of her to blow up at Catherine, but she couldn't seem to control her emotions lately. Eckley is seated at his desk when Sara comes in and he motions for her to close the door before he speaks.

"What happened earlier today, Sara?"

"Nothing."

"I hardly think insubordination to a supervisor is 'nothing'."

"It was personal."

"When you're on the clock, standing in my building... it's very public and... it's very wrong. Do you have any idea the impression your outburst left on this lab?!"

His anger is rising now as he realizes Sara isn't showing any remorse for how she treated Catherine Willows. He leans forward, resting on his arms as he spells it out for her. "You demeaned a supervisor within earshot of a dozen other lab employees! You caused Catherine a great deal of embarrassment, not to mention damaging her credibility. You were insubordinate and you will apologize to her!"

"I will not apologize to a woman who uses her sexuality to gain favoritism with the men around here!"

"Your accusations are inaccurate, Miss Sidle and you'll apologize ... or go on report!"

"Well right me up then... because I won't apologize! She's obviously got you wrapped around her little finger too!"

"That's enough! You're on suspension! Three days... now get out of my office! And get out of my lab!"

Eckley has jumped up to face her in his anger and Sara holds his furious gaze for a long moment. She is tempted to tell him exactly what she thinks of him too, but holds her tongue. Sara finally turns on her heal and storms out of his office, slamming the door behind her to emphasize her anger. Eckley is tempted to charge after her and add a few more days onto her suspension, but restrains himself. He doesn't know what's gotten into her, but he intends to have a long talk with Grissom. He takes several deep breaths, then sits back down and picks up the phone to call Grissom for a meeting.

Later that morning, when Eckley was done yelling at him, Gil goes to Sara's apartment. He is to blame for her recent destructive mode. He takes a deep breath and knocks on her door. A moment later Sara opens it slowly, as if afraid to see who's there. Gil notices the beer in her hand, but doesn't comment on it as she hesitantly steps back to allow him in. Sara is on the defensive with him immediately and walks away as she holds out her beer.

"If you're here it can't be good. You here to make sure I'm not drinking too much?"

"No... I'm here to see how you're doing."

"I'm fine... Just fine. You can go now."

Gil stands there watching her pace the room for a moment, knowing he can't leave until they get to the bottom of Sara's problem. He lays his keys on the counter and steps closer as he lowers his voice.

"Sara... why are you so angry?"

"I'm not angry..."

"You're obviously upset. You snap at everyone, you're drinking too much, you're self-destructive. Why? Ever since I've known you... you've been like this."

"Leave it alone, Grissom."

He's come too far now to back off and walks over to her. He stops her pacing and forces her to look him in the eye. He tenderly reaches out to stroke her cheek as he admits, "I can't... I care about you, Sara."

He holds her gaze for a long moment and feels her tremble to his touch. Then her eyes fill with tears and she suddenly turns away from him. She sits down, curling her legs up to her chest in a defensive posture. After several minutes, she has composed herself enough to speak.

"All I've ever wanted was a normal life. And that's the one thing... the one thing I've never had."

Gil sits down on the sofa next to her, but doesn't crowd her as she stares off into her past and relates the story of how she grew up in an abusive home. Her father routinely beat her mother until she was bloody. Sara recalled many occasions as a young teenager having to drive her mother to the emergency room after her drunken father passed out. Gil can only imagine the pressure that put on a young girl. She stops talking for several minutes and the haunted look in her eyes tells him she's reliving the horrible memories once again. Then she seems to remember his presence and looks over at him with such sadness.

"Then one night... she finally had enough... and she killed my dad. I stood there and watched her stab him... over and over again." Her eyes once again fix on an imaginary vision across the room and her voice seems to come from someone else as she chronicles the most terrifying night of her life. "I was thirteen... I saw it all... I was so afraid..."

She finally breaks down and sobs uncontrollably as the pain that has haunted her for years finally surfaces. She tucks her face into her arms, not wanting Gil to see her like this, but unable to control herself. Gil watches helplessly, knowing there is nothing he can say that will make a difference. He wants only to ease her pain and reaches out to take her hand. Sara turns away from him, but he refuses to let go. Instead he slowly pulls her towards him, gently urging her into the comfort of his arms.

She resists, not wanting to allow him into her private world. Sobbing softly she whispers, "I... don't want... your pity..."

"Come here..." He leans over and scoops her into his arms.

She is cradled by his side, tensely trying to hold herself away from his warmth, but his arms refuse to let her go. He holds her close and urges her to lay her head on his shoulder as the sobs continue to wrack her slight frame. After several moments she finally gives in, unable to resist the comfort of his strength. He feels her relaxing with her face nestled against his throat. He gently strokes her back and whispers soft words of comfort. His sympathy only makes her cry harder until exhaustion finally claims her and she falls asleep in his arms.

Gil sits quietly so he won't disturb her. Her soft breath fanning his throat. He thinks over everything she told him and now it all makes sense... even her abusive relationship. The guy she'd been with when he met her in San Francisco was a drunken creep. At the time Gil couldn't understand what Sara had seen in him, but to a woman from an abusive home abusive men were a love she understood. Gil finally lays his head back, closing his eyes briefly also.

He awakens to find he's been asleep for a couple of hours. He raises his head slowly, not wanting to disturb Sara who is still sleeping soundly. His body is stiff from being dormant so long and he moves slowly, trying not to wake her. Finally managing to lay her down on the sofa without disturbing her. He covers her with a blanket and then stands beside her, just watching her sleep. He stretches his tight muscles and moves away to let her sleep in peace.

Sara wakes up to find it is just before noon. She squints in confusion and tries to recall what happened last night. She recalls Grissom coming here, telling him about her past... and then the tears. She sits up and slowly covers her face with her hands... did she really break down and cry in front of him?! God, how was she going to live that down? She finally sighs and runs her fingers through her tousled hair as she looks at her watch.

"Wow... I slept for five hours?!"

A voice from her kitchen startles her. She is shocked to find Gil in her kitchen in the middle of the day. He glances up from what he is doing and smiles casually as he asks, "Yep, did you sleep well?"

"What are you doing?"

"Fixing you breakfast."

She watches for a few moments, totally shocked to see him cooking like he belonged there. She needs to clear her head... and comb her hair. Gil doesn't seem to think anything is unusual when she excuses herself and goes into her bedroom. She closes the door, needing privacy while her brain makes sense of what happened. She gets cleaned up quickly and changes into a clean, unwrinkled shirt before she feels confident to rejoin him again.

She comes to the kitchen, frowning as she watches him work. It occurred to her that he simply felt the need to baby-sit her because she'd gone off the deep end. She can't bear the thought of him treating her in this way. She goes to the fridge to grab a beer, needing a little something to calm her nerves before she confronts him. She takes a long sip from the bottle and then forces herself to sound calm.

"You don't have to keep an eye on me... I'm not suicidal."

Gil stops what he is doing and gives her his full attention. He sees how nervous she is and knows it was very hard for her to bare her soul to him. He steps up to her, a slight smile on his face and takes her arm. He removes the beer from her hand and guides her over to the counter where he has a cutting board and onions setting. Sara allows him to move her, but her eyes focus on the beer he took from her hand.

"What? Are you afraid I'll drink too much again?"

He ignores her accusation and merely sets the beer beside her on the counter within reach. He then leans against the counter, facing her as he picks up the knife and casually asks, "No... but how are you at chopping onions for the omelet?"

She stares at him a long moment, seeing a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. She smiles her understanding... he was giving her an easy way out of the tense situation earlier. He returns her smile and gently taps her nose as if to scold her for thinking bad of him. He then goes to the fridge and pulls out a beer for himself. She watches as he holds it up and asks, "Do you mind?"

"No, help yourself."

He opens the bottle and takes a long drink as he returns to his own preparations. Sara turns her attention to the cutting board in front of her and is starting to dice the onions when it occurs to her something else is amiss. "Grissom... where did this food come from?"

"I went to the market while you were sleeping. I hope you don't mind... I borrowed your house key."

She shrugs to indicate she doesn't mind and concentrates on her work. He's been here, watching her sleeping for over five hours? The last thing she remembers is sobbing in his arms. She must have fallen asleep. What did he do while she slept? She scoops the diced onions onto a plate and carries them over to him.

"So... what did you do for five hours?"

"I watched you sleep... I listened to you breathe..."

"Why?"

"I couldn't help it... your head was on my shoulder." His grin tells her he is enjoying their little game.

"So what else did you do?" When he looks in her eyes he sees her nervousness at having her defenseless side exposed.

He keeps his voice low and calm as he answers her honestly. "I napped with you for a while... I read a little... then I got hungry so I went to the store because your refrigerator is empty."

Sara tries to picture him sleeping with her and blushes at the intimate scene. Sara returns to her cutting board and hides a smile as she realizes it wasn't so bad having a friend around she could lean on.

They talk over preparations and the meal, keeping things light at first. Gil doesn't want to force her into more traumatic confessions, but she needs to talk about it. He hides his curiosity and casually suggests, "Tell me about your parents."

"I'd rather not get into that again."

"Tell me something good... a happy memory you have."

Sara stares down at her plate for a long moment and Gil thinks she is going to refuse. With a shaky sigh Sara pushes her food around for a moment. Then, she raises her eyes to meet his and smiles sadly.

"My mother... used to come into my room... early on the morning of my birthday. She'd have a special little cake... with one candle on it. It was for my special wish... on my special day. Then, in the evening... when my dad came home... I'd get another cake... more candles... presents... but our private party was my favorite."

"She must have loved you very much."

Sara doesn't answer this and he sees the clouds of bad memories cross her eyes. She looks down, unwilling to have him see the pain again. Gil tries to keep things on a lighter note.

"Were you close to your father?"

"Yes, when I was little he used to carry me around... on his shoulders. His little princess."

There is a long pause as Sara plays with her food and fights to control the emotions these forbidden memories are bringing up. Gil doesn't want to push her too far so he decides to turn the conversation to himself.

"My dad was a bookkeeper at the local mill. I never realized it growing up, but... he was a lot like Bob Cratchett in 'Scrooge'. He was mild mannered and worked way too hard for what we had."

Sara's head comes up now, fascinated by any information about this man. Her own worries are soon forgotten as he continues, "I wanted to be just like him... and yet I've spent my whole life doing just the opposite."

"I'm sure he's proud of you anyway."

"He died when I was twelve... he came home one day early and laid down on the sofa. It was a stroke. He never got to see my accomplishments. Never saw the newspaper article my mother still has framed in the den."

"What article?"

"It was nothing really... my first real job out of college was as assistant coroner. I was there only a year when the lead coroner retired and they gave me his job. I was only twenty-four... the youngest coroner in California history."

"Impressive."

He returns her playful smile. He isn't one to brag... let alone talk about himself so she decides to dig a little.

"I bet a title like that made you the most irresistible twenty-four year old around, huh?"

"Not exactly! Women heard what I did and ran the other way."

"But... not all of them."

"No... not all of them."

Now it is his turn to lower his eyes as painful memories cloud his vision. Sara can tell something terrible happened, but Gil doesn't want to explain. "I better get going."

"Okay... I guess I'll be seeing you at work... in a couple of days then."

"Think of this as a little vacation. Do something fun...take a trip."

Sara comes to see him out and they stand just inside her door, face to face. They are much closer than before and yet Sara is still nervous around him. He studies her for a long moment, then gently says, "Don't forget you do have friends, okay?"


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

Over the next three days Sara finds it hard to stay at home. There were too many reminders of him in her house now. She takes his advise and drives up to Reno for an art convention, spending the night there and actually enjoying herself for the first time in months. By the time her suspension is over she realizes she was wrong to snap at Catherine... but still believes Eckley is a jerk. She intends to make things right between her and Catherine. After all they've been friends since she came here. When she gets to work, everyone treats her the Same as if she'd just taken a few days off for vacation. Grissom is the only one who seems a bit remote.

In the briefing room, she takes up her position at the back of the room and waits for her assignment. To her surprise, Grissom once again assigns her to work with him on a case while Nick and Greg grumble about another boring training case. Warrick gets assigned to work a homicide solo and sees her surprise.

He just smiles at her as he walks past, teasing, "Patience, girlfriend."

Sara has always considered Warrick to be a big brother and gives him a good natured punch in the arm as he goes by. As the others file out, Grissom waits behind in expectation of Sara's complaint. When they are alone he looks to her and prompts, "Well?"

"What?"

"No commentary on the work schedule today?"

"No... But I do have one question for you... What was that the other night?"

"Time shared between friends."

"Oh... Right."

"I'll meet you in the garage. We're driving out to Devil's Head Canyon."

"Aahh... can you give me a few minutes? There's one thing I have to take care of first."

He looks to her curiously but nods his agreement and turns to head back to his office. Sara watches him go, disappointed, but what did she expect? At least he considered them friends now, right? Sara walks through the halls, looking for Catherine, but doesn't see her anywhere. Then she tries the locker room and Catherine is seated on the bench in front of her locker. She is changing her shoes and doesn't notice Sara's entry at first. She clears her throat and Catherine finally looks up as their eyes hold for a moment.

"You looking for someone to tear into again?"

"No... actually... I... I wanted to apologize. What I said..."

"Sounded a lot like a jealous woman." Sara is shocked she so easily saw through her anger to the real reason for her outburst. Catherine finishes tying her shoe and turns to face Sara, giving her full attention to her young friend. She straddles the bench and motions for Sara to come join her. "You want to tell me what's really bothering you now?"

"But how..."

"Oh, Sara... you're not the first woman who gave me that 'stay away from my man' warning."

Sara watches her for a long moment and finally smiles back, realizing Catherine doesn't hate her after all. She sits down opposite her as she apologizes, "Catherine... I really am sorry. I didn't mean what I said."

"I know you didn't, Sara. I can't change who I am... and I wouldn't even try. I've always been this way and I learned a long time ago it makes other women... nervous."

"There's nothing wrong with the way you are... I just wish I was more like you." They share a laugh as Sara rolls her eyes at the thought.

Catherine wants to reassure her that she and Grissom are just friends. "I want you to know... just for the record, Gil and I are close friends. We have dinner occasionally... we talk... that's it."

Sara is relieved to hear this and confides in her friend about the other night. She doesn't go into details because what was discussed is personal, but she gives Catherine the idea.

"The other night... Grissom came to my place to check up on me."

"After your melt down in Eckley's office?"

"Yea. He's a good listener... we talked, we had breakfast... it was nice. I never knew he was

such a good cook... I guess I learned a lot of things about him."

"He's a real enigma. Sometimes I just need to unload and Gil is good listener."

Sara smiles and shrugs not really wanting to know what they discuss. She rubs at an imaginary spot on the bench between them and admits, "We talked... about my family... and his..."

"Wow... I'm impressed. In the ten years I've known Grissom... He's barely told me any personal stuff... except what's on his resume."

"We both dug up memories, I guess." She doesn't want to say more and after a moment raises her eyes to meet Catherine's again. They hold for a long moment before Sara holds out her hand and offers, "So... Friends again?"

"Always."

They hold hands for a brief moment, then Sara abruptly stands up and turns to her locker. The topic is closed as Catherine watches Sara grab her gear bag and hurry out to join Grissom.

After her talk with Catherine, Sara finds Gil waiting for her in the garage. The night seems to fly by and before she knows it, they are back at the office, winding down at the end of shift. Sara roams the halls of the lab, looking for Grissom. She finally finds him in his office, seated at his desk with a large tarantula spider resting calmly on the back of his hand. Sara has never been afraid of spiders, but those big hairy ones gave her the creeps. She hesitates to come too close and stops in the doorway to watch his fascination with his new pet. He glances over to her with a smile.

"The orange kneed tarantula is the largest of its kind, but also the most docile."

"Nice... but does he get along with your other fuzzy friend?"

"Unfortunately, no. They'd fight to the death for their territory. Female tarantulas are possessive."

"Now there's an emotion I understand." At this, Grissom finally looks to her, wondering if the sarcasm in her voice was directed at him or herself. When their eyes meet, she is quick to mask her true feelings and smiles innocently as she hurries on, "I was just wondering, if you're not busy tomorrow night...?"

"I'm not busy... What did you have in mind?"

"How about palates at my place? Around seven?"

"Sounds good... tomorrow at seven, your place."

His attention has once again returned to his hairy pet and Sara doesn't know if his quick shift meant he was hiding something or he just found his spider more interesting. Either way she makes her exit quickly, breathing a sigh of relief to be away from the huge spider. They have been slowly progressing towards something... ever since they met in San Francisco. There was a tension between them which she found unbearable at times, but now she wonders if he's ready to move on.

The next night, Grissom can't keep the smile from his face as pulls into the driveway at Sara's quiet apartment complex. Yesterday when she'd asked him over he could barely contain his excitement... but he'd managed. He quickly averted his gaze to his spider to keep her from seeing the sparkle in his eyes. Ever since their time together he's had a hard time controlling his feelings for her. Hell, he'd been in love with her long before then. Almost from the first day he met Sara he's been fascinated by her. Over the years she's haunted his thoughts, but he could never let her know how he felt. He wasn't sure he should even tell her of his feelings.

What if he'd misread all her flirtations? He decides to take things slowly and let Sara set the tone of their relationship. With her invitation to dinner he couldn't help but take advantage of their time alone. He stops before her door, takes a few moments to compose himself, taking deep calming breaths as he checks his watch. It was a couple of minutes after seven... a good time to arrive. It showed he was punctual and therefore respected her, but also indicated he was his own man. He takes one last calming breath and knocks softly.

When the door opens, Gil takes in Sara's appearance with interest. She is wearing a low cut, form fitting tank top and satin jogging pants, both in a soft baby yellow color. She leans on the opened door, smiling as she greets him.

"Hi there."

"Hi. Aahh... I wasn't sure what to bring for palates... So I decided on a merlot. Is it okay?"

"Its fine... come in."

He follows her inside and casually sets the bottle of wine on the counter in the kitchen. Sara heads into the living room area to turn off the television. She places her hands on her hips and waits until his eyes meet hers. She cocks her head to one side and studies him for a long moment.

"You have no idea what palates is, do you?"

"It's not dinner?"

Sara laughs and shakes her head. "No... Lasagna is dinner... and it's in the oven."

"Lasagna... now that's something I recognize. So, what's a palate?"

"Come here... I'll show you."

She motions him to come over to where she is standing and for the first time Grissom notices the center of the room has been cleared of furniture. The coffee table is pushed up against the wall and the large sofa pillows are on the floor. She positions him in front of one pillow and picks up a booklet from a side table to explain.

"Palates are a mixture of yoga and stretching exercises. It's very relaxing."

"I see... and do you find it relaxing?"

"Yes, I do. Come on, try it." She sits down on her pillow and waits, looking up at him until Grissom finally sighs and sits down on his also. He continues to glance through the booklet of instructions as Sara begins her routine. After a few moments she realizes he isn't following along and stops to look over at him. The skeptical expression on his face tells her he isn't interested.

"It's not for everyone... but I like it."

"Good. Show me what you do. I'll just watch this time." He tosses the booklet back on the table as she shakes her head and turns her attention back to the wall.

She takes several deep breaths and begins her stretching routine. Gil's attention is caught by the newest issue of Forensic Science lying on the table. He grabs it up and decides to relax in his own way as he holds it up to show her.

"This is how I like to relax."

"Reading forensic magazines? I believe it was you who said reading forensic journals wasn't a valid hobby."

"I did, and I was correct... for you. Me on the other hand... I thrive on research."

She just shakes her head and goes back to her exercises as Grissom now stretches out on his side. Lying on the pillow beside her as he flips the magazine to an interesting article and begins to read. After several minutes he lets out a low comment, "Fascinating."

Sara glances over from her stretching position and wonders what he finds so interesting. She hasn't had time to read this particular edition yet. "What's so interesting?"

"An article on retinal imaging research."

"I haven't read that one yet... read it to me while I stretch."

He hesitates, uncomfortable reading aloud, but after a few moments of stiff commentary he relaxes. He goes on to read the article to her while she stretches. When that article is done, they briefly discuss it and Gil enjoys the intelligent exchange. He turns to the next article and begins to read about the poisonous scorpions of brazil. She moves on to the next portion of her routine; full body stretching. As she concentrates on holding the intense positions, she suddenly realizes Grissom isn't reading any longer. She can't see him from her position, arched low over one leg and waits for him to go on.

He has been distracted by her graceful arch and stops to watch. Her left arm reaches straight along her outstretched leg while her right arm arcs high up over her head, bending her whole body towards him. Her right hand hangs suspended in mid air, not far from where Grissom is lying and he is mesmerized by the graceful elegance. After a long moment, he reaches out to touch her fingers... gently tracing their long slim lines from wrist to manicured nails.

With the touch of his hand, she raises her head slightly to look at him. As their eyes meet the tension in the room is suddenly thick with possibilities and Grissom's voice is low and husky as he softly says, "You have very graceful hands."

She doesn't know what to say... wanting to encourage him, but not knowing how . She merely smiles at his compliment. Time seems to stand still as she allows him to examine her hand. His touch is gentle, but confident as he traces first the back, then the palm in the same, slow manner. His touch sends tremors of anticipation through her, but she forces herself to remain still. This is the first overt indication of his interest in her beyond friendship and she is suddenly tense with anticipation at this tender side of him.

Her body is supple and trim, but her muscles are beginning to protest. She would love to let Grissom continue his exploration indefinitely, but this isn't the time. With a soft sigh of regret, Sara puts an end to his caress. "Gris?"

"Hhmm?" As if suddenly aware of the situation between them, Grissom's eyes meet hers and the sexual tension between them flares.

She sees his desire for the first time and her breath catches in her throat. He holds her gaze for a long, tense moment while they both envision another ending to this scene. She is suddenly worried about things getting out of control and breathlessly suggests, "Maybe you should finish reading the article?"

He holds her gaze for another long heartbeat, then quirks his lip in a half smile and leans in to lightly kiss her hand. He turns his attention back to the magazine, lowering his hand as he takes a deep, calming breath.

"Yea... now, where were we? Okay, poisonous scorpions..." He goes back to reading as casually as before, but his voice has a deeper, more intense timbre.

Sara recognizes it for what it is and sits up straight with a knowing smile. Grissom reads one or two lines, then glances up to catch her watching him now. She holds his gaze, letting him see her own interest as she smiles. He returns the smile and winks at her before dropping his gaze to the page once again.

By the time he finishes this second article, Sara has completed the exercises she no longer has any interest in doing. She jumps to her feet, needing to put some distance between them after the tension earlier. Grissom closes the magazine and watches her walk to the kitchen to check on dinner.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"You can open the wine. Dinner is just about ready. I hope you like lasagna."

"I do." He stops on the outside of the kitchen island and reaches over for the bottle of wine.

She anticipates his request and pulls a cork screw from a drawer nearby and hands it to him. With the precision of practice, he removes the cork and raises it to his nose to inhale the intense aroma. As his senses are filled with the wine his eyes follow Sara's movements around the kitchen. She pulls the bubbling casserole dish from the oven and sets it on top to cool for a few minutes. Flipping off the oven she reaches into another cupboard to produce two wine glasses. With the thick oven mitts still on her hands she sets the glasses before him.

"Just like working with uranium, huh?"

"You're just doing that because I admired your hands."

"I am not! Would you prefer I get third degree burns taking the pan from the oven with my bare hands?"

Grissom chuckles as he pours wine into the two glasses, enjoying how flustered she has become over his teasing. She turns back to her task of getting dinner ready to cover her glowing cheeks. She dishes up two servings of lasagna onto plates as Gil goes to set their glasses on the table. She has removed the thick insulated mitts and hands him two plates across the island. Gil makes a point to glide his fingers over hers as he takes the plates from her and their eyes once again spark with hidden meaning.

By the time she brings the salad to the table she has her composure back and Gil pretends nothing happened. To bring the conversation back onto a safer topic they discuss work. Dinner goes smoothly and they relax once again. Grissom has taken several bites of his lasagna when he realizes there is something different about it. He raises a forkful up for examination.

"Did you make this?"

"Why? Is there something wrong?"

"No, it's delicious. It's just..."

"Thank you... and it's vegetable lasagna."

"Really? You never cease to amaze me." He resumes eating with obvious enjoyment and Sara is filled with pride that he enjoys her cooking.

It's a small thing really, but to her it's just one more thing she loves about Gil. She ponders his strange relationship with her as she continues to eat. Then, as if someone whispered in her ear, she looks up to find him watching her. Their eyes meet across the table and he can sense the worry in her.

"What?"

"This... It's kind of strange don't you think?"

"No."

"You're just... doing it because you feel the need to keep an eye on me, right?"

Grissom sits back in his chair, laying his fork down to give her his full attention now. Even though she said it casually, this is a serious question from her and he wants to ease her worries, but not trigger a flood of questions. He glances at her, seeing concern there. Letting her see the calmness in his eyes, he takes a long sip of his wine before he answers.

"Sara, you and I are friends... at least I hope we are."

Sara tries to smile, reassuring him she is ok with that, but not wanting him to see how much this disappoints her. Her eyes flicker down to hide her uncertainty and Gil sighs in frustration as he tries to explain.

"If I have any ulterior motive at all... it's wanting to make you like me again. I've been alienating you lately, after I specifically asked you to come here. I got... caught up in things and I didn't see what was happening. I mean... I'm your boss."

Sara watches him now, realizing for the first time how hard this is for him. She knew he was unaware of her feelings for him for a long time, and now, he's struggling to keep her reputation from being tarnished by her own destructive behavior. She isn't sure she agrees with his methods, but she does respect him for his efforts.

She smiles and slowly shakes her head in disbelief as she softly comments, "Gruesome Grissom... who would have known? The cold, clinical Tin Man does have a heart."

Once again their eyes meet and hold across the table and there is nothing held back now. She finally knows his interest in her is accurate. Twice tonight he's slipped up and let her see his interest... but he had to be careful. He now leans forward, resting both elbows on the table to cradle his chin in his hands as he playfully admits, "That's me."

Now it is Sara's turn to sit back smugly and take a long sip of her wine as Gil gives her another glimpse inside his armor. Gil decides to clarify his previous statement with a subtle warning, "But that doesn't mean anyone else needs to know, Sara."

"Hey... we've all got secrets, right?"

He knows she is referring to her past, and he would never betray her confidence just like she'll never betray his. However, if this new flirtatious relationship continues... there won't be a person in the lab who won't pick up on the change in their relationship. It was hard enough to get through the days without giving something away. He still hasn't decided whether to move ahead or stay just friends. After all there were the issues of working together. For now they were friends, but the way he was looking at her... that wouldn't be the case much longer.

As if reading her mind, Gil understands the complications it could cause at work. Especially if Eckley got wind of it. He was always looking for a reason to hammer Grissom and after Sara's insubordinate display last month he was high on his list. Sara decides to back off... at least for now. She finishes off her wine and sets the glass aside as she pulls her thoughts away from the fantasy.

"For dessert... I can offer you store-bought brownies... or..." She hesitates innocently, but in his brain her suggestion has much more sexual connotations. His one eyebrow raises sharply in silent question as she blushes. She busies herself by gathering up their plates as Gil waits for her to list the second option.

When she doesn't say anything he prompts, "Or?"

"We can head over to Coaster Heaven Park. There's a great ice cream shop there."

"At the gates of the Leviathan roller coaster."

"I figured you'd know it... so?"

"I'm for ice cream... then I'll show you how I relax."

"You mean ride the coaster?"

"Are you up for it?"

"You bet! Just let me clean up a bit."

She turns to take the dishes to the kitchen and Gil quickly gathers up his to follow her. They work together like they've been doing it for years, putting away the leftovers and clearing the dishes before they take off for the park.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

Over the next few days after his dinner with Sara, Gil avoids her attempts to have personal conversations. He keeps things focused on business and has also continued assigning her to work with the others on every case. Catherine who usually works solo, has been with him on almost every case. She holds her tongue, not wanting to complain, but it was Warrick who came to him, wanting to know if Sara was on probation after her outburst with Eckley. Grissom assured him she was not being punished further than getting the three day suspension Eckley handed out. Catherine overhears his answer and wonders if there's been a change in the personal relationship between them. She knows Gil isn't likely to tell her outright, but she can't help whispering a warning to him as she heads for the door.

"Be careful, Grissom."

Grissom just smiles, knowing exactly what she meant; she was very observant about these things. Ever since their dinner, he's been intensely aware of Sara... more so than usual and Catherine had picked up on it. It was almost as if someone turned on an electrical switch between them. It had him wondering if there might actually be a chance for something to develop. He decided to test Sara's reaction by spending more time with Catherine, instead of her. If she was the possessive type... and he believed she was, it wouldn't take long for her to take a stand if she really was interested in him.

It has now been two weeks since their dinner and tonight, Gil hands out the assignments for the night's work. Sara has expressed her displeasure at having to work with Warrick or Nick lately. Claiming she was more than qualified to handle assignments by herself, but Gil ignores her comments. He hated to admit it, but as her boss he could make her schedule anything he wanted. Already she'd asked him some veiled questions, innocent to most people, but Gil knew she was fishing for answers. After the evening at her place he decided to take a chance and see what developed... but he also had to be careful. He was walking a tightrope where Sara was concerned.

Knowing Sara as he does, Gil was shocked to find out about her family history. No child could grow up in an abusive home like that and not be affected for their lifetime. Then to witness her mother stabbing her father to death... Gil can only imagine the pain she's lived with. In San Francisco, Sara had an abusive boyfriend. He'd first met her up there while teaching a seminar. He'd seen her subtle mix of strength and vulnerability. Then he brought her here to work for him. Both for personal reasons as well as professional. He wanted her safe from that maniac... and he knew she'd be an asset to the lab. What he hadn't counted on was this growing attraction between them.

Catherine saw her attraction to him almost immediately... and it was her friendship and honesty that finally made him see what it was doing to her. He and Catherine were very close... especially when she felt the need to give him advice. Gil smiles across the room at her now, thinking how much he values her friendship. When she suddenly looks up their eyes hold for a moment as they share a private understanding. He finally pulls his eyes away as he holds out a folder to her.

"Catherine, here's that file you've been waiting for on the Simpson case."

"Good. Maybe now Eckley will get off my back about the trial."

Gil just smiles, knowing the situation between Catherine and their current boss. He'd promoted Catherine to swing shift supervisor and Gil had warned her to be careful. If there was any reason Conrad Eckley wanted her on days... It was for personal reasons. He'd had a thing for her for years, but Catherine could handle him. She had him wrapped around her little finger... And she was smart enough to let Eckley think he was in charge. Gil would never admit it, but he'd kill Eckley in a heartbeat if he ever laid a hand on her. Gil had stepped into the role of her protective older brother a long time ago... and he wasn't about to stop now.

With this, Gil's gaze now moves to Sara who is quietly munching on an apple in a back corner of the room. After a moment's silence he realizes the rest of his crew are watching him, patiently waiting for their assignments too. He clears his throat and forces his mind back to the business at hand.

"Warrick, you and Sophie are on the Circus, Circus case. Dead body found dangling from the high wire under the big tent."

"All right. Break out your leotard, Sophie."

"Not a chance, I outrank you. You're swinging from a string, not me."

Everyone in the room chuckles at the friendly banter, but quickly settle down as Grissom continues on with the assignments for the day.

"Nick, you're still working on that missing person from yesterday, right?"

"Yea, we should have it wrapped up in a couple hours though. Our vic just decided to have a wild weekend on the town."

"Good. Here, when you're done with that you can get started on this one."

He hands Nick a slip of paper with the information about the second missing person call. Nick scans the paper a moment and then waves it in frustration. "Grissom... two missings?! Come on... Don't you have anything more exciting for us?"

"Not while you're training Greg. He's still in his first month of field work."

"But..."

"Baby steps, Nick."

"I can take that other missing, Grissom?"

"No, Sara, you're with me tonight."

Everyone can see the frustration on Sara's face and knows she's about to argue with him... again. Catherine doesn't give her a chance as she interrupts her to say, "Aahh... Grissom... I was kind of hoping you could help me out tonight."

"Tonight? Aren't you off?"

"Aahh, yea, but Eckley wants this handled right away... and it's one of those 'sensitive' things. Can you and Sara work this one for me tonight?"

Gil sighs impatiently, pretending frustration at having his decisions challenged. He searches Catherine's eyes for a moment, knowing what she is doing, catching the hint of humor there.

"What's so sensitive it has to disrupt my shift too?"

"A follow up at the Rampart?"

Their eyes hold for a long moment as it becomes clear to everyone in the room why she needs Grissom's assistance. Her father owns the Rampart and she's had problems when working cases involving him or his properties. She isn't supposed to handle any case involving him now, Gil sighs tiredly and nods his head in agreement.

"Okay... Sara, we're working Catherine's case first tonight."

She steps forward to suggest she can work the other case solo if he wants to do Catherine's follow up. It irritated her that he was always so willing to do whatever Catherine asked of him. As much as she loves being near him, she still wasn't comfortable speaking her mind... especially in front of the others. Everyone in the room smiles, except Grissom. He quickly shuts down any comments from her on the subject as he grumpily snarls, "That's it, let's get moving."

Gil has a good idea what Catherine has waiting for them at the Rampart tonight... since he'd asked her to plan it. He thought it had been their secret, but then Warrick had approached him and in his usual quiet manner, gave him a CD of romantic jazz music he knew Sara would appreciate. Gil knew she'd never agree to this if she knew so... a little bit of deception was necessary to set the stage for this important meeting. He smiles as he thinks about it now... knowing it has nothing to do with the Rampart Hotel. He's spent several days planning this night and he wasn't about to let anything go wrong now.

Gil stands in place, allowing them all to leave before him. Catherine makes no move to leave, watching Grissom as the others walk past. It appears they all have some idea what tonight's little diversion is about. Gil waits until they are all out, except Catherine and Sara, then closes the door for privacy.

"Okay, what is it, Catherine?"

"Just a routine case of an unknown trouble... really."

"Then why are we handling it?"

"You're not, Grissom... you're making sure no one can say I 'compromised' this case in any way."

"Does it involve him?"

"He owns the hotel... and it involves a very 'special' guest in the presidential suite."

"Okay... We'll take care of it. As usual, I'm always ready to jump when you say so."

"Exactly. All my training is paying off finally."

She walks past him with her eyes twinkling, wanting Sara to see her amusement and maybe get a little jealous. As Sara walks past Grissom to leave, she hesitates, wanting to ask him why, but not wanting to sound as if she were complaining. Gil notes her hesitation and brings it up first.

"Was there a complaint Sara?"

"Aahh... no, no... I'm fine. I was just wondering how long we're gonna be tied up. You know, with Catherine's thing?"

Gil gives her a strange look, wondering if she were only asking this because of work. Sara quickly steps away from him, not wanting to give him the impression she enjoyed being this close.

"I mean... I hate to put more work on the guys while we're cleaning up after day shift. I could work the other assignment solo until you're done with it?"

"Look Sara, I don't know how long we'll be, but we're on this together. Work is work... days or not, so let's just get to it, okay?"

She leaves, giving him a quick nod. Gil hasn't said anything to her on a personal level in over two weeks and it worries her. She asked to cover a case on her own and that left him wondering if she no longer wanted to be around him. It strikes him as she turns away that he may have waited too long.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

The presidential suite is set up for romantic evening... Candles, soft music of her favorite songs... fantastic city lights view from private balcony. Unsure what crime they are investigating, Sara finds a guard standing by the door, who merely swings the double doors open and allows them to enter. Once inside a quick nod from Grissom and he closes the doors and returns to his normal duties. Sara stands in the room just looking around, impressed by the opulence of their surroundings.

"Sweet..."

Gil is standing beside her and overhears comment. He glances at her and then back around the room, seeing it for the first time as a romantic setting... and not just a room. Obviously it is to Sara's liking and Catherine had done well in choosing it for him. Gil had been planning an evening for her, but he would have planned something simpler. His mind briefly wanders down fantasy road as he imagines the effect a room like this will have on Sara. Then she steps up in front of him and he quickly dispels the fantasy into reality again.

"Right... so, what are we looking for?"

He sets his case down and she does the same, waiting for Grissom to begin his typical analysis of a crime scene. Gil seems reluctant to take the lead and just sighs and suggests, "You tell me. This is your scene tonight. Give me a run down on the room and tell me what you see."

"Okay."

He knows how thorough she is and that she'll find the lack of evidence soon enough. She studies him for a long moment... wondering if he's regretting his offer of friendship. It wasn't like her to be insecure when it came to men, but Gil was different. Gil was special to her... and the attention he was paying to Catherine lately had her worried. Gil gives nothing away and simply turns to her, bringing her back to the moment.

She turns to survey the room around them. "Obvious romantic setting... indicates the room was rented for a couple... not some corporate guy here on business. The flowers and candles indicate care and a desire to please. Music is perfect for a seduction scene. No signs of foul play... at least in here."

Gil just smiles and sits on the arm of a sofa as she strolls around the room pointing out these details. She finally makes it to the bedroom double doors. She hesitates a moment, then swings them open in tandem and steps into the room; stopping to stare at the huge pedestal bed. Sara softly sighs, unaware that Grissom has followed and heard her exclamation. He stops at the door, leaning on its frame as she glances over her shoulder at him. She blushes as she indicates the bed.

"If only that bed could talk..."

He merely smiles and raises one eyebrow in reply. She turns her attention to the rest of the room, walking in ahead of him to glance into the empty closets. Now, after a quick assessment it is Sara's turn study him... wondering what is going on. It's obvious nothing criminal has happened in this room... at least not yet. She sees something in his eyes that makes her tingle inside and decides to go along with his game a little longer. She quickly scans the room with a critical eye now, confirming her assessment.

"Whatever they had planned it never got this far... yet."

Their eyes hold for a long moment and the tension is heavy, but Sara is the first to look away. She turns away to examine the room again, moving out into the main parlor because it suddenly became very warm in there, standing next to him. She takes several deep breaths, trying to calm her racing pulse. She couldn't even stand next to him anymore without wanting to throw herself at him.

He hides a smile behind her, having seen the emotion flicker across her eyes before she turned away. He follows her back to the main room to continue his little game. "So, what does this tell you?"

"Well let's see... The person who had this room was trying to impress someone... someone important to him?"

"Why would you say that?"

"Because I'm good at reading scenes. So why don't you tell me why we're here, Grissom?"

Gil watches her intently for a long moment, amazed once again at how quickly she analyzes a situation and gives an accurate read on it. It was just one of the things he adored about her. He tries to act innocent as he suggests, "You think I... arranged this?"

Sara smiles and maintains her composure as he holds her gaze. He has subtly turned the balance of power to her, without being too obvious and now it's time for her to tell him how tonight will end. He's cornered her here, in this elegant room, eliminating any chance of escape, but she maintains her outward calm and simply shrugs.

"It's obvious this isn't a crime scene."

She still doesn't comprehend what he's up to, but is beginning to realize this has nothing to do with work. She now blushes under his intense gaze. Her foolish heart is skipping along, getting caught up in the romantic setting of the room. The music, the candles... it was everything her fantasy of a night with Grissom would be and now it appeared to be here, all around her.

His mouth quirks into that smile she loves and she smiles back at him; taking a deep breath as he tilts his head to one side and admits, "I should have known I couldn't fool you."

Gil shrugs in concession, holding her gaze until she nervously looks away. She motions towards the table and suggests, "What's the special occasion? It's not my birthday... It's not your birthday... What is it?"

"I just thought we needed to talk... really talk."

There is a long silence between them as they stand across the room, trying to gage the others response to this situation. Gil is afraid she'll object now and leave. This hasn't turned out anything like he'd planned and now he is seriously wondering what to say next. Having gone to so much trouble he isn't willing to waste this night without trying.

When he doesn't expand further she finally asks, "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"Let's talk about... Catherine."

This wasn't exactly what she'd expected him to say and hides her shocked disappointment by turning away to go stand out on the balcony. Looking out over the lights below, Sara worries that his desire to discuss Catherine only confirms her worst fear. She forces herself to remain calm as he follows her outside. She asked him to choose a topic so it's too late to turn back now. And before this night is over they're both going to have a clear understanding of where their friendship stands.

He stops a few steps away from her, but she doesn't look at him as she takes a shaky breath and finally asks, "Are you... involved with her?"

Gil's head snaps up at the question, his eyes glaring at her in disbelief. How could she think that? Just because he's worked with her more lately? Well, his plan to get a response from her worked... better than he expected. She tries hard to hide the jealousy in her voice, but he hears it anyway. He hides a smile, happier than he's been in years because he knows for sure now. He strolls to the opposite end of the balcony, drawing out the tension between them.

"I guess you could say I am... I mean, we've been friends a long time."

"Yes, but you know... to her, it's just... you do see that, don't you?"

"Sometimes we're much better at seeing inside other people than ourselves... but I'm trying to change that."

Gil looks over at her now, holding her eyes as the last light of day fades from the sky. She sees a glimmer in his eye, but from this distance... It could have just been a reflection from the glittering lights below. She isn't sure what he meant by that and cautiously probes for more.

"So... you've decided to do something about it then?"

"You could say that."

He is referring to his recent decision to further his relationship with this woman, not Catherine, but to Sara's ears it sounds as if he is finally admitting there is something between them. She turns away, feeling as if she's been hit in the stomach with this news. All these years, loving him and yet afraid to let him know... even before moving here she'd been attracted to him. Then afterwards... she'd leaned so heavily on him for support during her break up with that creep. She never envisioned a day when he'd tell her he was interested in someone else. He's never said he wanted her, but it has always been there... unspoken between them. The closeness, the trust, the flirting... She always thought some day it would develop into more. And now she may have waited too long.

Gil watches her back, noting the deep breaths as she tries to calm herself and knows his words upset her. He comes to stand behind her now, cornering her at one end of the balcony. He lowers his voice to a serious, husky tone and asks, "Don't you think it's about time I did something it, Sara?"

"No... Yes... I mean... If it's what you want."

"Well... I do have one problem that I thought you could help me with."

"Me? What's that?"

There is another tense silence as Gil debates his next words carefully. He knows the time has come to tell her the truth, but he can't resist stringing her along just a little longer... toying with her. He hides his smile and falls back on his scientist persona as he pretends to be unsure of himself.

"Well... It's something she said... or wants... I'm not exactly sure?"

His tone spikes her interest and Sara finally turns around to face him. She stands with her back to the wall now, curiously searching his worried expression until he stumbles along to explain further.

"I thought... with you being a woman too... you could explain something to me."

"Okay..."

"She told me... well... she said she wanted me to, and I'm quoting her... 'pin her against the wall and kiss her like I really meant it'."

"Oh... so... what's the problem?"

"I'm just not sure what she's telling me. Is this some hint that she likes it rough? Or maybe she's into S &M?"

Sara stifles the laughter rising up inside her, knowing it would be very wrong to laugh at Grissom in this moment. She can see how serious he is and tries to control her amusement as she clears her throat. She takes a moment to compose herself before she can answer. Keeping her face devoid of expression, she calmly tries to answer his question.

"I... don't think she's into S & M, Gris. My guess is she's just telling you she wants you to be more... open."

"How? I mean... does she really want me to restrain her?"

"Well... kind of... all women... and I mean all... want men to pursue... and catch us."

"So it's the age old 'survival of the fittest' theory?"

Sara considers this for a moment, then sighs and nods as she admits there is truth to his analogy. "Yes. Women want to be sure the male is worth the effort... but its more elemental than that. It's just an incredible thrill to..."

"To what?"

"I... I don't know how to explain it..."

"Then show me."

Time seems to stand still for a long moment as she searches his eyes for some sign he's teasing her. When she sees none, she slowly reaches out to take his arm, guiding him in to stand directly in front of her. She urges his hands up towards her as she softly instructs, "Pin me against the wall."

"You seem to say that to me a lot."

She blushes as the prior incident comes to mind, but Gil's hands come to gently rest on her shoulders, increasing the pressure until she steps back into the wall behind her. He steps up, keeping the distance between them close, but not allowing their bodies to touch. She tries to keep her mind on the lesson and not the way her pulse suddenly doubled its rate as she places her hands on his waist.

"Not just with your hands... use your whole body." She gently pulls him in close until his hard body, from thighs to chest, are pressed against hers. Their faces are only inches apart now as she looks up into his eyes. He sees her nervousness, feels her body tremble against him, but still he plays the innocent.

"Is this the thrill? Knowing you're trapped by a dominant male?"

"You know... the dominant male is only dominant if a woman lets him. I learned that from Lady Heather's Domain."

"Maybe some day I'll tell you what I learned." Sara's eyes snap up at his playful comment and he simply smirks and shrugs before he continues. "So this is really about playing hard to get in order to be caught?"

"All women want to be caught. It's this moment... when we're trapped... the thrill of... finally giving in to that first kiss."

Again there is a heavy silence as their eyes hold. They are both feeling the sparks of excitement racing between them. Gil wants to kiss her badly, but he can't resist teasing her a little bit longer.

So... when I have her... a woman... in this position... she wants me to kiss her?"

"Oh, yea... that's pretty much a given."

"But how do I know if I'm doing that part right?"

"I know you've done this before, Grissom."

"Yes... but I want to make sure I do it right. This is very important. You can tell me if it's right, can't you?"

"You want to kiss me... to practice?" Sara's face holds a mixture of worry and astonishment, but Gil can't tell which one is winning out in her mind.

Obviously she hadn't expected him to ask this of her, but what was she so worried about? Maybe she's afraid of losing her control... or maybe she doesn't want to take that next step. Either way, Gil doesn't give her the chance to say no as he now raises one hand to cradle her cheek and lowers his mouth to hers as he whispers, "Well... yes..."

His kisses are tender and slow, tentative at first in case she objects. It takes her stunned mind a moment to react to his lips on hers, but then she responds. His mouth floats over hers in gentle exploring kisses that tease of more. She feels his hand curl around her neck, tilting her head up to him and a thrill races down her spine. She lets out a breathless sigh and returns his caresses... not giving or taking more than he allows.

As Gil feels her lips softly molding to his he is overcome with a surge of desire so strong he fights to control it. His body presses into hers as his hands grip her firmly. After several moments he reluctantly pulls back, just far enough to look into her eyes. The darkened shade of brown, almost black now tells him she is as aroused as he is... but again he plays his game.

"So... how was that?"

Sara's mind fights to regain control as her body aches for his sweet kisses to continue. She takes several slow, calming breaths as she drags her eyes away from his mouth. When her eyes meet his she tries to sound as calm as he does... wondering how he could not be effected by those kisses.

"Aaahhh... Yea... I guess that was fine."

"Fine, huh? Your pulse rate is elevated, your breathing is rapid and shallow, and yet you don't seem too convinced. Maybe I should try again."

Again his mouth descends on hers, not giving her time to stop him. She is expecting more slow, gentle kisses, but this time Gil decides to put more effort into convincing her. His lips cover hers with authority, devouring their sweetness with an urgency she can't deny. Each intense, searching kiss blends into the next until everything is forgotten except the passion surging through them. Sara is drowning in his caress as his mouth hungrily demands more. He draws her lower lip into his mouth, holding it captive with his teeth as his tongue flicks playfully over it. Her eyes fly open to find him staring down at her with such intensity it makes her knees weak. He suddenly releases her lip and kisses her roughly, all the while holding her gaze captive. Then, without warning he once again snares her lip in his teeth, holding her prisoner.

She can't stop the soft whimper that escapes her throat as her hands glide up his back to draw him closer. She pulls him against her as she reaches up to free her lip and return the kiss with equal tenacity. As she shifts from a passive participant to a very active one, Gil feels his body respond instantly. He grinds his hips slowly across hers, pressing the hard length of his manhood into her belly. There is no hiding his excitement from her and she moans her approval deep in her throat. Time seems to stand still as they explore this new world, which had been confined to fantasies until now. After several minutes, Gil finally pulls back, breathing heavily as he nibbles a path to her ear. She is panting softly as she tilts her head to allow him access to her tender throat. He nips her throat, just below her ear and growls huskily to her, causing another thrill to race down her spine and explode deep in her belly.

She moans huskily as his tongue flicks out to explore her earlobe and he knows at this moment she is his. He continues to torment her, exploring her soft skin with his mouth while his hips keep her desire spiraling ever higher. Sara can hardly think and doesn't really care how they went from a simple discussion to this... but she makes one last, desperate attempt to regain control. "Mmmnnn... Okay... Okay... Gil... Mmnn... I'm convinced."

Gil barely hears her words breathed against his neck, but they send a thrill racing through him as he becomes very still. Even though her words were a desperate plea... her lips now glide softly along the strong pulse throbbing in his throat. When her lips finally make their way back up to his, he pulls back to look down at her. He holds her gaze for a long moment, knowing she would give him anything right now as she softly repeats, "I'm convinced."

Gil smiles, seeing her surrender, but also seeing her pleasure at having him right where she wants him too. His hand cups her cheek and his thumb comes up to trace softly across her wet lips as he decides it time to stop playing. "You finally called me by my first name. Does that mean you're convinced... that it's you I need?"

His eyes burn into hers and the message is clear to her for the first time. He wants her. He needs her... and this whole charade about Catherine was just a game. She smiles up at him and happily whispers, "Yes..."

"Good... now, gimme' that mouth..."

As he speaks his thumb gently presses on her chin, urging her mouth to open as he lowers his lips to hers. There is no hesitation as she complies, lifting her mouth to meet his in a slow romantic kiss. His tongue delves deeply in search of her very soul, twining with hers in a slow motion love dance that makes her weak. She moans softly as she expertly returns his caress, floating on a wave of passion she's never felt before and her arms slip around his neck to pull him closer. Time is forgotten as each kiss melts into the next and they spend long minutes lost in this new world, free to express everything they've been hiding for so many years.

Just then there is a knock on the door, shattering the perfection of the moment and they pull back reluctantly. Gil turns to glare at the door, still not functioning in reality as another knock is followed by a man's voice, calling out, "Room service..."

Gil sighs and looks back at the woman in his arms, reluctant to let her go. Sara simply smiles at his frustration and reaches up to stroke his jaw. He kisses her once again before he clarifies, "Dinner."

He had completely forgotten their surroundings, so lost in the moment, so focused on her that he completely forgot about dinner's arrival. As Gil lets out a low growl, he steps back a bit, but still doesn't release her. "Lousy timing."

"But necessary." Her breathless tease lets him know she is just as nervous about this as he is.

Their eyes hold for a long moment, knowing if there hadn't been an interruption they would have soon ended up in the bedroom. Which reminds him of his original reason for bringing her here... to talk. Sara stares at him a moment, noting the glimmer in his eye and wonders what is amusing him. He gently strokes his thumb along her cheek and then steps back to tilt his head to the side as he studies her.

"We're supposed to be talking... remember?"

"Yea... so, if you'll excuse me..."

He studies her for a moment, debating whether to tell her how much he loves her. If they're to stand a chance of making this work between them they have to be honest. His smile fades as his hand tenderly strokes her cheek once more and he is about to say the words when there is another knock on the door. He growls impatiently and steps back from her as he calls out, "Yes, I'm coming!"


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

While he is dealing with the room service attendant, she slipped into the bedroom with her case. She finally emerges from the bedroom looking like a new woman. A quick brush and a little make-up have transformed her from a merely beautiful woman into every man's dream. Even her clothing, re-arranged makes her sexy and exotic. Gil almost drops the bottle of Champagne in his hands. Sara can't help but smile as he fumbles the bottle in his hands. He quickly sets it aside and stands staring at her now. She slowly walks towards him and the look in his eyes is only for her. She stops several steps in front of him as he breathlessly whispers, "Wow..."

"You know... sometimes, you say the most perfect things, but then... there are times like now..."

"...when you just take my breath away."

"Better."

"Sara... you're stunning, as always."

"Thank you... I didn't have much to work with."

A silence falls between them as Gil's eyes roam over her, admiring her curves. She watches his gaze move and her pulse doubles at the desire in his eyes. When his eyes once again meet hers he clears his throat as he turns back to the task of opening the wine. She smiles and decides to let the night unfold at his pace. If she had her wish they'd be in the bedroom already, but she can wait... after all she's waited for him this long. She strolls across the room to the windows, noting the candles on the table and around the room have all been lit, she anticipates a very romantic evening.

He fills two glasses and several times she catches him watching her. He brings the wine and hands her one glass as she smiles her thanks. She seems a bit shy now as she takes a long sip of her wine. They stand together, looking out at the city lights below; sipping wine. The tension is thick between them and Gil finally takes her hand in his. He wants her to know he still has to deal with their work situation and his own fear of commitment... he just hasn't figured out how to do that yet.

"I don't much care how others see me... I've never given a damn about that, but..."

His words are like a lightning bolt through her and she tries to hide the surge of worry. Was the whole seduction scene just a trick? He used Catherine as an excuse... but was there more to that?

"So, you're not in love with Catherine?"

"No, I'm not... I never have been. And I don't think she's thought of me as anything but a

friend."

"She's so obvious..."

"That's just the way she is. Catherine can't help being so flirtatious. I helped her through some

hard times with Eddie and we're just very close friends."

"You're her knight in shining armor."

"As tarnished as I am... I guess so."

"Wow, I mean... lately, you've been working so closely with her."

"I've been trying to avoid another... situation by using her as a buffer."

Again a silence stretches between them as Sara takes in this new information. It's as if a huge weight has been lifted from her shoulders as she finally looks up and asks one more time, "So you're not in love with her?"

"No, not her."

Their eyes hold for a long moment as his words sink in. His emphasis on the word 'her' indicates he is in love with someone else and the way he is looking at her right now makes her heart skip a beat. She suddenly averts her eyes from his, lowering them to his chest.

"Oh, well... that's good. I was worried about her... and..."

"It's you I'm worried about."

"Me?! Why?"

"I know what I want, Sara... I just don't know if I've waited too long."

His hand comes up to gently trace down her cheek, curling under her chin as he lifts her eyes back up to meet his. He feels her tremble as his thumb strokes softly along her jaw. Time seems to stand still as he holds her captive by one simple touch. Her lower lip trembles and he longs to still it with a kiss, but not yet. Not until she admits she needs him as much as he needs her. Her face tilts up and her lips part, silently pleading for his kiss. He is tempted, but refrains as he now lowers his voice to a husky growl, "Tell me what you want."

Again he feels her tremble as he leans closer, but stops just inches from making contact. Her eyes search his, wanting desperately to believe the emotion she sees as his eyes bore into her. Compelling her to give him the one word... the one nod that will allow him to pursue his passion.

She stands mesmerized by his intense eyes and finally answers in a breathless whisper, "I've always wanted you."

"Are you sure?! Because once I love you... I won't stop."

Her fingers curl up into his hair, pulling his head down as she whispers, "I'm sure."

This time, Sara initiates the kiss, leaning in to place her lips gently on his. Her kiss is slow and teasing as she nibbles on his lower lip. Gil growls huskily as his hand glides up her arm, framing her face as he takes control. His mouth claims hers with a hunger that surprises her with the intensity. Unafraid of the passion boiling in him, a soft whimper escapes her when his mouth demands entry, grinding her lip against her teeth and drawing blood. He doesn't know if her whimper was one of pain, fear, or desire, but it is enough to bring sanity crashing back to him. He breaks the kiss, drawing back just far enough to focus on her parted lips and the small trickle of blood there.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"I've waited for this night... so long... I was afraid I may have waited too long. I didn't want to

lose you."

"All this time? You've kept me at a distance..."

He takes her drink and set them both on the table beside them. Then pulls her into his

arms to hold her protectively against his surprisingly well muscled chest. "I was afraid of upsetting the balance... when I was your boss... hell, even before I was your boss."

"You knew... way back then?"

"Yes... I went through hell. Seeing you with that guy up there... the way he crushed that

beautiful spirit of yours. I knew then I'd do anything for you."

She feels her heart swell with love as he confesses the depth of his devotion. She tenderly reaches up to stroke her hand along his jaw, loving him more than she ever thought possible.

"I felt so ashamed... having you see me like that. But I didn't want you to see me as some weak,

pathetic female."

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that, Sara."

"Me too... we've wasted so much time..."

"That wasn't wasted... the timing just wasn't right."

He tenderly kisses her sore lip, flicking his tongue out to remove the blood. The taste of her sweet lips sends a tremor down his spine as he fights for control. She feels his tremor and it matches her own as his tongue glides over her lip. She moans softly and tilts her mouth up, offering herself to him. Gil hesitates a moment, knowing he should slow down, but unable to control his need for her right now. This time he is in control as her lips part willingly and with a low groan, Grissom's tongue delves deeply in search of hers. A breathless sigh escapes her as she is flooded by waves of intense passion. Each kiss blends into the next and time seems to stand still.

Gil finally sighs and moves away from her as he hands her glass back. They walk hand in hand back to the table to enjoy the wonderful meal. Gil puts on a dramatic flair as he removes her cover to reveal an exquisite vegetarian dinner. He has a large grilled halibut steak, stuffed with crab meat which smells delicious.

After dinner, Gil takes her hand and leads her back to the spacious living room that overlooks the colorful lights of the Vegas strip. He isn't interested in the view and only softly orders, "Dance with me."

She obediently turns to face him as he reaches for her hand. She slowly places her hand in his and allows him to pull her in close. He curves their clasped hands around behind her back as he holds up his other hand, waiting until she gently places her palm in his. To her amazement Gil is a very skilled dancer, light on his feet with good timing to the music. She relaxes with his confidence and allows him to guide her in time to the slow, romantic song. When the music proceeds to an even slower instrumental song, Gil releases her hand behind her back to concentrate on holding her closer. She melts into his arms as her hands glide slowly up his arms and around his neck. His arms encircle her slender body, molding her to his hard frame as he bends her back in a dramatic dip in time to the music. Gil smiles at her surprise and then draws her back up as the music once again slows down. They dance to a slow, romantic rhythm for song after song, never losing eye contact as their passions simmer.

Sara's fingers lightly rake through the hair at his collar while her lips begin an exploration of their own. She has long fantasized how it would feel to glide her tongue down the pulsing cord in his neck. Now as her tongue traces the strong beating of his heart she feels the excited tempo of his pulse. He sighs huskily and tilts his head to allow her better access as her exploration moves slowly higher. His hands are slowly searching out each curve of her body. First they slide up her back, curling around her as he presses her soft body to his. He stops to enjoy her soft lips nibbling on his ear, then glides his hands back down to firmly mold her hips to his.

"Honey... Mmnn..." She moans softly as a tremor races through her, but continues her slow torment as her tongue flicks into his ear. Gil again feels his pulse rate double and his hands press her hips closer as he tries to remain focused. "Honey... look at me."

She finally complies, lifting her head to meet his smoky gaze and she smiles at the emotions he is trying to control. He holds her gaze for a long moment before he forces himself to say the words that might abruptly change their evening.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Sara? We don't have to do this... I mean... God knows I

want you, but if you're not..."

"I've been ready for this... since the day I met you."

"Really... because I recall you being rather pre-occupied with what's-his-name at the time."

"His name was Johnny Nash... but that's not important now."

"It's not? You haven't forgotten his name."

"Shut up and love me, Gil..."

Her fingers comes up to rake through the hair at his temple as she now draws his mouth down to hers. She kisses him with such erotic passion that all thoughts of conversation vanish as he growls deep in his throat and swings her up into his arms. His mouth dropping to claim hers in a possessive kiss and she melts into his arms. Fighting to control his passion, Gil sets her down in front of the huge bed, before reaching up to slowly unbutton her blouse.

"I've wanted to do this so many times."

His eyes hold hers as he hesitates a moment, then slips it off her shoulders. The blouse slides down over her soft curves to the floor as she allows him to undress her. She stands naked before him as he gazes at her with undisguised longing. He takes his time in admiring her and his pulse rate doubles with anticipation. He slowly reaches out to cup one breast, gliding his thumb over the small rosy nipple. It hardens instantly to his touch and his lips curve up in a half smile. He feels a soft tremor shake her and raises his eyes to hers. Her normally chocolate eyes have darkened to pure mahogany. He leans in slowly to kiss her and a soft sigh escapes her. As each tender kiss blends into the next, Gil takes her hands in his and guides them up to his chest. He eases them underneath his jacket.

"Touch me..."

Her fingers fan out, feeling the firm muscled chest beneath. Then they move to his shoulders as she slips his jacket off. She tosses it over the back of a chair beside them and turns her attention to unbuttoning his dress shirt. Gil makes no move to stop her as his hands come up to frame her face, tilting her lips up as he hungrily deepens their caress. They continue to kiss, slow and sensuous as she slips her hands inside his shirt and up his back. Grabbing the shirt at his collar, she eases it down his back. When it pulls against his arms, he reluctantly breaks the kiss to lower them so she can pull the material off.

She tosses his shirt over the arm of the chair with their other clothing, careful not to wrinkle it. The look in his eyes tells her he appreciates her consideration. She holds his gaze as she runs her left hand up his arm, over his shoulder to curl around his neck. Drawing him back for another kiss as her other hand moves to continue her task. Gil's hands rest on her hips, spanning her slender waist as he holds her body away from his own. Everything in him is demanding he throw her down and make love to her, but he resists.

He doesn't want to rush one single moment of this night. He feels her agile fingers undo his belt and knows he has to slow things down a bit. His hands move to cover hers, stopping her progress as he steps back from her. He takes several deep calming breaths before urging her to sit on the bed. She complies and watches as he kneels before her. Their eyes meet as his hands now glide slowly up her thighs and his smoldering desire is clear. When his hands reach her hips he stops, then one slowly continues up until he once again cups her breast firmly. Holding her gaze he softly eases her legs apart. She obeys as their lips once again meet and he moves in between them. He kisses her gently, in rhythm with her nipple that he is slowly rolling between his fingers. He feels her tremble, but continues to torment her until she lets out a soft moan and breaks the kiss.

"Oohh... that's nice..."

She guides his mouth lower as he kisses a trail down her throat. When his mouth hovers over her breast, she arches back with a whimper and he hungrily mauls one firm breast and then the other. Sara is panting softly, waves of excitement course through her body as Gil expertly torments her. His hand glides down to her knee, continuing down until he holds her foot in his hand, while slowly kissing a trail down over her flat belly. Then he lifts her leg, curling it up as he lowers his mouth to her knee. He lifts her other leg, wrapping them around his shoulders as his lips move higher until he finds his goal.

She lies back with a husky sigh, exposing her sex to his hungry exploration. He curves his hands under her hips, raising her up as he strokes his tongue over her tender flesh. He alternates long flat strokes, then quick tormenting flutters to prolong her enjoyment. When he feels her tensing, he switches again. She is panting heavily, desperate for the release only he can give her. She reaches down to stroke his hair, gently urging him on, but he isn't done yet. He seizes her wrist, pulling her hand away and holding it captive while his free hand thrusts two fingers gently inside her, rotating them in rhythm with his stroking tongue. Sara is suddenly overwhelmed by a new, intensely sweet sensation and moans huskily.

"Aaahhh... Oh God... Please..."

Her husky plea sends a thrill through him and his rock hard cock aches to replace his fingers. He finally gives her what she needs, lowering his mouth to her sex in the most intimate of kisses. Stroking her to an intense orgasm, she cries out as she arches back. The sensation is so intense she can't stand it and tries to move away from him, but he grips her hips to hold her steady. The world stops for a moment as he strokes her until it is almost painful. She is moaning hoarsely as her body begins to relax, and he removes the remainder of his clothing. His hard shaft throbs as he anticipates the moment to come. He continues to stroke her, slowly lapping up the hot fluid oozing from her canal. When her sanity has returned, she realizes... no man has ever possessed her so completely... or dominated her so gently.

He has discreetly wiped mouth when he comes up to her, kneeling over her as he slides her farther across bed. He kisses her lightly and she can taste her own scent on his tongue. She moans softly and reaches into the kiss, wanting more. As he lowers his body to hers, she curls her legs around his hips, inviting him inside. As each deeply erotic kiss blends into the next he pushes his thick cock firmly into her. He feels how tight she is and groans as he thrusts harder against the resistance. Sara suddenly breaks the kiss and arches back.

"Aaahhh!"

She is so tight... it feels so good to be inside her, but he stops... worried he hurt her. He can barely control his desire as he roughly whispers, "Honey, are you okay?"

She pants softly and shivers at the feel of his big, hard shaft inside her. When the initial thrill dies down she moans, "Mmnn... yes, just go easy... it's so big..."

Her husky instructions are whispered against his ear, causing a tremor to race down his spine. He fights to control his desire as she curls her legs up high along his back. He loops his arm behind her knee, lifting her hips up to him as he once again pushes into her. With this new position there is less resistance, but he fights the urge to drive hard and deep, controlling his passion as he glides into the hot, wet canal. His eyes hold hers, watching for the slightest sign of discomfort, but he sees none. When he is almost in he feels resistance again and stops as a soft whimper escapes her. He studies her features, noting the trembling of her lower lip as she pants shallowly. He kisses her gently, stilling the tremor and she moans softly as she reaches up for more.

After several slow, sweet kisses he groans huskily, "You're so tight..." His cock feels huge inside her and he wonders if he should stop.

Then her hands slide slowly down his back to press his hips closer. She once again adjusts her hips beneath him as she urges him to continue. He pulls back just far enough to look into her eyes as he obeys and sinks into her body until his hips are flush against her. She moans softly and tenses for a moment as her eyelids flutter shut with the intensity of the feelings rolling through her. He stops, once again afraid he hurt her as she pants, "Oohh... It's so thick."

He lowers his mouth to her neck as he nuzzles her seductively. His lips move up her throat to nibble on her ear and she trembles as a soft sigh escapes her. He remains still as he nuzzles her ear and huskily growls, "Just relax, baby..."

His lips move along her throat and up to kiss her with slow intensity. Each kiss blends into the next until they are both breathless and craving more. When he pulls back their eyes hold and he feels her relax beneath him. He curls his hand down under her hip, adjusting the angle a little as he positions her for his assault.

"I won't hurt you..."

He draws back, hesitates and then thrusts his cock in slowly to full depth. He fills her completely and groans huskily at the thrill. She moans and her eyes once again flutter at the intensity, but he sees no pain now. As he continues to thrust slow and easy, he kisses her again and again. She's never had it this good and moans against his lips, "Oohh you feel... so good... inside me."

After a few minutes he begins to move faster... but still gentle as he eases her towards an intense climax. She can't contain the waves of ecstasy any longer and cries out as her whole body tenses with uncontrollable tremors. He slows again, waiting until her eyes once again focus on him. He smiles when he realizes it was an intense orgasm and not pain that made her cry out. She is panting as she lies trembling beneath him. He continues to barely move in her until the intense waves of pleasure fade. He groans deep in his throat as he feels her canal contract even tighter than before. When she finally sighs and relaxes, her hands come up to cradle his head. Burying her fingers in his hair she guides his mouth down to hers for a seductive kiss. When the kiss ends she smiles up at him and he just winks as he starts thrusting again. Still slow, but now with more force. He lowers his head to the pillow beside hers and places his mouth to her ear.

"Mmnn... you like that, don't you, baby? You were made for me."

As he excites her with his husky words, he continues to thrust steadily until she is once again aching for the release only he can give her. He holds her back from a second climax; changing speed and angle until she pleads for it.

"Please... Harder... Harder... Aahh... Aahh... Yes... Yes!"

He finally releases his tightly held control and fucks her hard and deep. Both hands now grip her butt, lifting her up as he drives his shaft deep into her belly. It feels so good he forgets his promise not to hurt her. She cries out with each thrust, but it only fuels his desire to bury his shaft deeply inside her.

"Oohh... Ooowww... Oh, yes... Ooowww... Aahh... Yes!"

He is beyond control now and can't hold back as he rams into her hard and deep until they finally cry out and climax together. Gil's body is rigid above her as his life fluids explode deep inside her belly. The tremors that shake his body are intense and it is several seconds before he trembles one last time and whimpers, "Oohh... Sweet Jesus..."

His body finally relaxes to lay over her in exhaustion. His weight crushes her into the soft mattress and as his sanity returns he realizes she isn't breathing. He raises his weight onto his elbows and nuzzles her ear. "Breathe sweetheart..."

As if released from a trance, a tremor shakes her as she lets out a long, slow sigh. Her arms curl around to hold him tightly, kissing his neck and shoulder repeatedly. Now that his brain has cleared he recalls her cries of pain and worries he hurt her. He begins to pull out of her, but she stops him with a soft plea.

"Don't move... Please... It feels so good..."

Her hands move to his hips, easing him back inside where he belongs. As her legs curl around his to hold him in position, he raises up to look at her. In between tender kisses he softly asks, "Tell me... I didn't... hurt you..." She simply shakes her head 'no' and reaches up to kiss his chin playfully, but he isn't sure and persists, "...but you were..."

She stops his words by once again kissing him and then softly whispers, "Don't..."

"But I hurt you..."

She smiles and studies his worried expression for a moment before she kisses him again and admits, "A little maybe, but it felt so good. I didn't want you to stop."

He is confused by her answer, but her smile tells him she isn't upset with him. He allows her to distract him with her playful kisses for a moment, then looks into her eyes as he persists in clarification.

"So the 'OW'S' were a good thing?"

"Very. There's only so much room... and you more than fill me." She grins up at him and after a moment of hesitation his worry eases and he smiles back as she continues, "When it feels that good... everything tenses..."

"...and it's so tight... Mmmnnn... It feels so good to be inside you."

They spend long minutes just kissing and cuddling now that Gil is sure he hasn't hurt her. With all their previous tension and shyness gone they can relax and express the emotions they've been hiding all this time. He once again moves, pulling back, but again she stops him.

"Please... Don't go..."

"I'm not going anywhere... except deeper."

"Ooohhh." He begins to thrust into her again and she realizes he is rock hard. Her legs

come up to curl around his waist and she moans her approval, "Mmmnnn... Yes..."

As if they've been together for years, she moves with him perfectly, encouraging him. He keeps the pace slow and steady, holding her smoky gaze and kissing her again and again until she draws his tongue into her mouth. She sucks on his tongue, slow and easy, in rhythm with his thrusting hips. Suddenly, he takes her in a hard, demanding kiss that takes her breath away before he pulls back with a husky growl.

"Sara! You make my blood boil!"

She can see the fire in his eyes and his intense passion doesn't scare her. She reaches up to flick her tongue over his lip and he growls in response as he kisses her with a desire he can't quite control. As his thrusting hips drive them closer and closer to heaven, he breaks the caress, lowering his head beside hers with a deep groan of sheer pleasure, "God... I've wanted you for so long..."

Again Gil's intentions of taking it easy are forgotten as vaguely hears her whimpers. He curls her hips up, ramming into her with a fury to lose himself inside her. Her nails curl into his back, not to stop him, but clinging to him. He once again takes her to the edge of the abyss then with one final thrust, drives her over the edge into mindless ecstasy. Afterward, when their breathing has returned to normal and the fine film of sweat has dried... Gil pulls the quilt up over them and they lie together, joined at the hip and the heart.

They cuddle and kiss for a while, then Sara strokes his back as sleep finally claims him. She smiles, knowing she has never been happier than she is at this moment. Later, after dozing off herself she wakes to feel Gil lying over her back, stroking her body. He wakes her with soft kisses along her throat, but when she tries to turn and face him, he stops her. His arm encircles her waist, holding her hips to his as he presses his throbbing erection between her legs.

She moans softly and spreads her legs to his invasion. He continues to slowly rub his cock over her sex, tormenting her as his hand moves up to tease her nipple into hardness. He then bends around her, replacing his fingers with his mouth as he sucks hungrily on her tender breast. She arches around to him as she strokes her fingers through his hair. When he pulls back, his hands span her small waist, holding her as he mounts her from behind. He moves her knees apart, kneeling behind her as he lifts her hips up for his entry. She draws her knees up, bracing herself as he thrusts into her once again. He drives in deeply, but there is no pain this time. Sara moans as he fills her, causing tremors of pleasure to radiate through her as he keeps the pace slow and steady until her hand comes down to cover his own. She guides his hand down onto her lower belly, pressing his palm into her belly.

"Mmmnnn, it feels so good... I can feel you... so deep inside me... here..."

She presses his hand firmly as she rocks her hips back, impaling herself on his cock. As she does, he feels his shaft pushing out against his hand. Sara is thin, but not frail and he loves the feel of her slim, athletic body bent to his desire. He growls huskily and begins to thrust harder now, fighting to control the desire inside him as he lowers his body to hers. He grips her hips tightly, thrusting harder as he nips her ear.

"Sara, you drive me crazy... Mmmnnn... You feel so good..."

"Yes... Fuck me... Aahh...aahh... Harder... Oh... Yes... Yes!"

Gil lowers his mouth to her shoulder where his teeth close on her soft skin. He holds her captive as he now thrusts harder and harder, driving hard enough to push her across the bed. She braces herself with her arms as she rocks back to meet his thrusts. Crying out softly each time his cock drives into her, she experiences a whole new level of pleasure. He once again lifts her up to heaven and follows close behind with a deep groan. They are both completely satiated now as Gil finally moves to her side, pulling her into his arms where they almost immediately fall into deep, peaceful sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

The next morning Gil wakes slowly from a dream of loving Sara. As his eyes scan the unfamiliar room he frowns in confusion, then recalls the magic of the night before. He feels the stirrings of passion again and reaches out for her, but she isn't there. He raises up on one arm to look around the room, but sees only his discarded clothing. Then he hears noises from behind the closed bathroom door and relaxes. He props up his pillows and lies back to wait for her to appear. A few moments later she comes out of bathroom, freshly showered and dressed again in her work clothes. She stops when she sees him awake and takes a moment to admire his naked chest, then her eyes slide down to the obvious tenting of the sheet over his hips.

She looks away to snap her watch into place as she says, "Good morning."

He waits for her to look up at him, then lifts his hand motioning her to come to him. With her heart pounding, she obeys and stops beside the bed. He takes her hand, drawing her down to sit beside him as he studies her. Their eyes hold as he brings her hand to his lips and kisses it. Now in the light of day it seems more real than fantasy.

"You're an extraordinary man."

He just gives her that half smile she loves and raises one brow to indicate he knows what she's talking about. He would never brag about his accomplishments so she teases him.

"What? You don't think five times in one night is extraordinary?

He continues to hold her eyes, shrugs and kisses her hand again as he explains, "You made it extraordinary."

She smiles and their eyes hold for a long moment. Then he notices her quick glance at her watch and asks, "You in a hurry to leave?"

She smiles and shakes her head in disbelief. For all his management skills, he could be very unorganized. He forgot she had court first thing this morning. At his look of confusion she relaxes as she explains, "No, but I'm due in court in... forty minutes and I'll barely have time to get my case file and get there."

He grins, realizing it is his fault she'll have to show up in court wearing yesterday's clothes. He had forgotten her subpoena for court... but then he hadn't really expected last night to go so well either. He lays their hands on his chest.

"Sorry."

She gently touches his cheek and feels her passion stir again as his beard stubble tickles her fingers. She decides to be completely honest with him now, because their time apart is bound to let some doubts seep back in.

"I'm not... last night was perfect. Thank you." She leans on his chest as she bends down to kiss him warmly. He lets her control the moment even though he wants to haul her back into bed with him and make love to her again. "We definitely need to 'talk' more often."

She grins, knowing how much they both enjoyed last night. Just thinking of it makes her pulse jump erratically again. The moment is suddenly charged with sexual tension as his hands move slowly up her arms. He gives her time to resist, but when she doesn't, he draws her close and kisses her again. She enjoys his light caresses for a few moments then sits back, remembering court.

"Hey, I'm due in court... Remember? I gotta get going."

As she sits up her hand strays lower and his arousal is obvious under the sheet. She glances at his hard manhood, then covers it with her hand as she strokes him gently through the satiny material. His eyes close as a low growl escapes him, letting her know how much he enjoys her touch. She knows she shouldn't tease him when she has to be leaving but continues to caress him a moment longer.

"As much as I hate to leave such a sexy man lying in bed... in this condition..."

He forces himself to remember her commitment and after a moment pulls her hand away and huskily orders, "If you keep that up... you're not gonna make it to court... Go on."

She leans down to kiss him deeply one more time before she whispers, "I love you, Gil."

When their eyes meet he sees the true emotion in her and knows she means it. He suddenly crushes her to him and rolls her onto the bed where he pins her down and kisses her with a passion he can't control. She resists briefly, but then moans and gives in as her passion flairs to match his own. They spend long minutes lost in deep, romantic kisses and the world outside is forgotten. Then a loud buzzing between them makes them both jump as she reaches down to retrieve her cell phone. She holds it up and recognizes the message. With a reluctant sigh she looks up at Gil.

"Thirty minute notice for court... I have to go!"

"Yea... I know." He kisses her with such deep emotion she moans softly and reaches up to deepen the kiss, but he pulls back. Their eyes meet and he huskily whispers, "Just for the record... I love you too."

She smiles up at him, seeing her love reflected in his eyes as she softly replies, "I know..."

He gives her one last kiss, reluctant to let her go, but knowing she has to be in court. She reluctantly gets up, casting glances back at him as she heads for the door.

After Sara left, Grissom got up and grabbed his pants, before going to hang the do not disturb sign on the door. He didn't want the maid to come in while he was showering. Half an hour later, as he is heading out to the parking lot, Gil puts on his shades against the bright morning sun. He walks in a pleasant daze, tired from last night, but also very content. It isn't until he is almost to his Ford Expedition that something catches his eye. Parked on the opposite side of his truck, Gil sees a smaller version of his same vehicle parked there. The rear door is up and there is a large black case lying on the ground by the rear bumper. At first it doesn't register, because Sara should have been long gone by now, but as he gets closer he sees the lettering on the case "CSI". He stops, stunned to realize this is Sara's Ford Explorer. The rear door has been left open and her case is lying on its side, as if dropped there. He quickly scans the area, but doesn't see her anywhere.

"Sara?!"

As he comes around to the driver's door he finds the front of the vehicle locked and deserted. He turns back to the rear again and looks closer. This time he sees Sara's keys lying on the ground beneath the rear tire and fear races through him. He rushes over to his own vehicle, entering it from the passenger side door. He grabs his radio and takes a deep calming breath as he clears.

"CSI Grissom... Clear for info."

"Go ahead..."

"I need you to clear CSI Willows... have her see me in the west parking lot of the Rampart Hotel... right away."

"10-4... Stand by..."

Gil doesn't wait to see if Catherine responds to the call. He knows if they don't clear her on the air the dispatcher will call her at home to give her the message. Gil is already thinking ahead, trying to make sense of why Sara would abandon her vehicle, her case and her equipment in this way. He grabs his phone, starts to dial... pushes the wrong numbers and curses under his breath as he quickly hangs up and dials again. A moment later a voice answers.

"Clark county superior court."

"This is Dr.. Grissom from the crime lab. I'd like to confirm that one of my CSI's... Sara Sidle has court this morning?"

"One moment please..."

The woman puts him on hold and Gil paces the parking lot, searching in between every parked car as he anxiously as he waits for her to return. It seems to take forever, but in fact it is only a minute before she comes back on the line.

"Dr. Grissom, that case had to be continued."

"Continued? Why?"

"I'm told CSI Sidle failed to show up for court this morning. If you'd like to talk to the assistant district attorney...?"

"Aahh... no... thank you."

He is in a state of shock as the realization that something has happened to Sara. She would never leave her equipment unsecured like this... And she wouldn't miss court unless something bad happened. Gil has a hard time fighting down the fear that threatens to overwhelm him. What could have happened to her? Just then his radio crackles to life and he nearly drops it as the sudden intrusion startles him.

"CSI Grissom, clear for info..."

"Grissom..."

"Willows said she'll call you." Just then his cell phone rings and he quickly dismisses the dispatcher and snaps open his phone to hear Catherine's voice.

"Gil... Its Catherine. I'm on my way to a defense interview... So if you happen to be in a mood to chat... can it wait?"

"Catherine... I need you here now! This can't wait so dump the interview and get over to the Rampart... Now!"

"Ok... What's up?"

"I... Cat... Its... Its Sara... I... she's missing."

There is dead silence on the line as Catherine pulls the phone back to stare at it in disbelief. She can tell by the tone of Gil's voice he isn't kidding, but it didn't make sense... Who would do something like that? And why? Sara was supposed to have been with Gil last night... She pulls herself back to the present and knows Gil will explain everything when she sees him. She puts the phone back to her ear and is in the process of making a u-turn back to his location.

"I'm on my way... Do you want the guys there?"

"Not yet. I don't want to blow this thing up if I'm wrong... Just get over here. I'm in the west parking lot."

Catherine hangs up and pushes her foot down harder on the accelerator as she reaches over to turn on her emergency lights. As she makes the five minute drive to the Rampart Hotel her mind is racing with possibilities. If Gil was still at the Rampart... That must mean he and Sara spent the night there. But if they were together all night... How could she have gone missing? Her mind races through multiple scenarios, but none of them explain how Sara could be in any trouble. As far as they all knew, she didn't have any 'bad habits' and she never mentioned anything about having any enemies.

Catherine makes the five minute drive in less than three, pulling into the parking lot with a squeal of her tires. She sees Gil impatiently pacing not far ahead and drives up to him. He motions her not to drive closer and she knows from experience he is protecting a crime scene. As she gets out her trained eye takes in Gil's SUV... And Sara's parked alongside it. She sees the open rear door and Sara's kit lying on the ground. What she doesn't see is the evidence Gil is protecting by standing over it... blood drops on the asphalt. He hadn't seen them at first, but when he'd calmed down enough to think clearly he'd given the area a closer look. Now he is certain Sara met with foul play, but he still can't grasp who would want to harm her... Or why.

He comes to meet Catherine as she gets out and the worry on his face is obvious. He quickly fills her in on the necessary information, knowing what happened last night isn't relevant right now.

"Sara left at seven-forty-five. She had court this morning. I came down later... about ten minutes ago and found this. Her truck is open, her case is knocked over... her keys are on the ground under the vehicle... and there's fresh blood... Here... Here... And here."

"Are we sure she isn't in court?"

"Catherine... I wouldn't have called you unless I already checked... She never showed up."

"Ok... So we treat this like an abduction until we know otherwise?"

"Yes... I need your kit. Then head inside and get whatever footage you can of this parking lot."

"From seven on?"

"No make it daylight on... I want to see what activity was out here before she got here."

"I'm on it." She turns back to her vehicle to retrieve her kit, not bothering to ask why Gil couldn't use his own kit.

He must have a good reason and she's worked with him long enough to know not to question him. She hands him her kit, leaving her vehicle parked where it is to protect the scene. She hurries inside the hotel to contact security. Gil quickly strings up crime scene tape around the perimeter of about twenty cars... hoping this is big enough to cover any evidence. He then begins to mark the blood drops with yellow numbered cards so they can be photographed and collected. Inside his emotions are in turmoil, but for now he focuses on the job, keeping his emotions buried as he concentrates on work.

Inside, Catherine approaches the security counter and identifies herself. A call is made to the offices upstairs and before she can even thank the man she turns around to see her father, Sam Braun standing behind her. She smiles as she walks to him and holds out her hands. He takes her smaller ones in his and returns the smile, happy to see his daughter again. Theirs hasn't been a smooth relationship, but it was getting better every day. The main obstacle between them now was her boss, Gil Grissom. He was very protective of her and distrustful of Sam's reputation. Catherine, although openly wanting to strengthen their relationship would never go against Gil's wishes.

And nothing would make Gil happier than to be able to prove him guilty of murder. Sam wasn't denying his involvement in the numerous cases Gil's office has investigated him for, but he wasn't about to admit anything either. After all, Sam was old school Vegas. He forged this town by any means necessary and sometimes that meant using force. Granted, he didn't need to do that as often these days, but sometimes it couldn't be helped. For now, he just hopes his gesture in letting Grissom use the suite last night will help ease the tension between them.

He leans forward to place a light kiss on Catherine's cheek as he softly says, "Hi, Mugs... What brings you around this morning?"

"Work... I need to see the security footage from early this morning Sam."

"All of it?"

"No, just the last few hours and anything that covers the west parking area."

"Was there a problem out there?"

"Yea, we believe so, but... Can we talk about it in private?"

Without another word he turns and escorts her towards the security office. When he lets her in there are several guards inside monitoring the cameras. A manager steps up to them and addresses Mr. Braun.

"Good morning, Mr. Braun. What can I do for you this morning?"

"Dennis, please tell your men to take a break... But I'll need you to stay behind. We've got some footage to view."

"Of course. Okay, guys... head out on the floors and circulate... but turn your monitors to automatic before you go."

Catherine and Sam wait as they do as they are told and hurry from the room. The manager stays behind, waiting to be told what to do next. Sam motions Catherine towards a chair.

"Okay, so you want to see the west lot footage?"

"From about sun up on... as much of it as you have."

Sam nods to the manager who quickly sits down at a monitor and begins to cue up the footage for them to view. While they are waiting, Sam turns back to Catherine and lowers his voice for privacy.

"So, was the suite satisfactory?"

"Apparently everything was fine... until this morning. Sam, one of our CSI's, Sara Sidle, disappeared from your west parking lot as she left this morning."

"Disappeared how?"

"That's what I'm hoping the tape will show me. We found her car open, her gear scattered and blood drops on the asphalt."

"I see... and I suppose your boss will find some way to say I'm involved in all this I suppose."

"No... Not unless you are?"

"Of course not! Catherine... How can you think that?!"

"I'm sorry, Sam... It's just that I know there's no love lost between you two."

"That may be, but it would hardly benefit me to harm one of your co-workers."

"Even if she's the one Grissom wanted the room for last night?"

Sam doesn't answer as a slow smile crosses his face. Catherine is instantly sorry she mentioned it because he'll store the knowledge away until some later date when it will suit his needs to bring it up again. She just shakes her head in a silent warning, but doesn't reply as the manager now points to the big screen.

"Ok, sir... It's coming up on the big screen now. I've got it multiplexed to show all four cameras

on screen."

They turn to watch as the four camera angles of the west parking lot begin to roll. They quickly scan them from the time the sun first begins to lighten the sky until Catherine finally sees something that catches her eye. She steps forward, pointing to the top right screen.

"There! Go back ten seconds and put that screen on full monitor."

The manager complies and after a few key strokes the film replays in a larger image. They see Sara exiting the building, carrying her case. As she walks towards her car they can clearly see a broad smile on her face. Catherine's lip quirks up in a slight smile, recognizing the look. She doesn't comment on it as they continue to watch her progress. She walks between the rows of cars until she approaches the back of her SUV.

Then, with a remote button she disengages the alarm and opens the rear door of her Explorer. She has just stepped up to put her case inside when a man suddenly races up behind her, knocking her into the rear storage area. She drops her case and her keys go flying as she fights off her attacker. From this camera angle they can't see his face, but it is obvious this man intends to do her harm. Catherine cringes as she watches the suspect punch Sara several times in the face until she no longer struggles against him. He then stands up, looking quickly around to see if anyone witnessed his attack. Sara lies motionless in the back of her vehicle with her legs dangling out.

Catherine's hand comes up to cover her mouth as she shakily whispers, "Oh, dear God..."

They continue to watch as the suspect now grabs Sara, hoisting her over his shoulder and turns to run back the direction he came. When he is off screen Catherine quickly demands, "Find him! Which camera has the rest of it!?"

The manager quickly begins typing and in seconds the four screens pop back up on the monitor. He rewinds them a few seconds and then points to another screen.

"He's taking her back to that pickup truck."

They zoom in on that camera now and watch as the suspect drops the tailgate on a dark colored pickup truck and dumps Sara's limp body inside and climbs in after her. There is a fiberglass camper top on the truck so they can't see what is happening inside, but a few moments later he emerges again alone. The only clue to his activities inside the truck is a roll of duct tape he has in his hand now. Again he quickly looks around to ensure he hasn't been seen, then tosses the tape back inside the bed, closes the tailgate and walks calmly around to the driver's door. As he drives off the manager anticipates Catherine's next order and switches to a camera angle that will allow them to see the license plate as the vehicle exits. They all sigh in frustration as they see a rag covering the license plate. When the tape stops and Catherine has had a few moments to compose herself she turns her anger and fear on Sam Braun.

"How in the hell can something like this happen in your parking lot?! On your cameras!? And no one saw a thing!?"

"I don't know, Catherine... but I'm going to find out." He turns his attention to the manager who is looking nervous because he knows his job is on the line. Sam points a finger at him and orders, "Get that tape, all of it... cued up and copied for myself and Miss Willows, now! Then I want you... and whoever was on duty at the time upstairs in my office!"

"Yes, sir, Mr. Braun."

Sam looks back to Catherine to see her hands are shaking as the realization of what happened to her friend hits her. He knows the best thing to do now is step back and let her do her job, especially since Grissom is so deeply involved. Catherine's eyes meet his across the room, expressing her worry before she pulls her cell phone from her belt and begins to dial.

"Grissom... It's me. We've got an abduction... yeah, it's all on tape. I'm getting it copied now... no, I don't think that's a good idea. Let me call in Nick and Warrick to assist. They can process the scene while you and I go back to the office. You can watch it there... yeah... It is."

He doesn't need to hear the other side of that conversation to know she is once again protecting her partner and friend. Sam merely nods to her as she hangs up her phone and steps up to take the disk the manager is holding out to her.

"We'll need that original footage preserved... And I might need more... Going back to last night."

"No problem. I'll have it all stored in the computer... Everything from every camera from noon yesterday on."

She nods her agreement and turns to hurry back out of the room as she once again begins to dial her phone. She knows Gil won't be able to focus on this case objectively once he sees the footage... Hell, even now he wasn't thinking clearly. It was evident from his voice he was too close to Sara. Not that they all weren't close to her, but not in the same way Grissom was... not after last night. She quickly places the call to the main lab, requesting to speak with Warrick. He and Nick had been assigned to work days about a week ago so she knew they were there. She doesn't give them any details, but tells them to meet her and Grissom at the Rampart Hotel parking lot right away.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

Before Warrick and Nick arrived, Catherine had a chance to give Gil a brief rundown on what she'd seen on the tape. She didn't go into details, but from the blood he'd already marked he knew Sara had been hurt. He feels as if someone has just punched him in the gut and staggers back to sit on the opened rear door of his truck now. Catherine is concerned and comes to steady him. After a moment, Gil looks up at her with desperate confusion.

"Catherine... who would do this? Who would hurt Sara?"

"I don't know... but we'll find out. The video is good... don't worry, Gil... we'll find her."

Their eyes hold for a long moment and they both wonder in what condition they'll find her. Neither says it, but the doubt is in their eyes. Just then Nick and Warrick arrive and park outside the crime scene tape. They look curiously at the two CSI's trucks parked in the middle of the scene and wonder what happened. As they approach they can tell Grissom is upset and appears shaken. It is Catherine who steps forward to take control.

"Ok guys... this is our one and only priority right now... and we have to keep this quiet. Very quiet! Sara was coming out to her truck this morning... about seven-forty when she was attacked."

"Is she all right?!"

"We don't know. She was abducted from the parking lot by a man driving a dark colored pickup truck with a camper shell on the back."

"Oh God... No! How could that happen?!"

"All I can tell you Sara put up a good fight."

It suddenly dawns on them Gil is still sitting behind them in a daze. They both glance over to him and then back to Catherine as Nick lowers his voice to ask, "Was Grissom here when it happened?"

"He came out to his truck about thirty minutes ago and found this..."

She turns to motion towards Sara's truck, the case and the blood. The guys quickly come to the right conclusion that Grissom and Sara spent the night here. Why Sara was leaving before him is unclear, but at the moment it doesn't matter. They give Grissom one last sympathetic look and then turn their attention back to Catherine.

"Nick, I need you to photograph the scene and do a diagram. Warrick, you're on evidence collection. We've got the interior back storage area of her truck, the ground around the rear and this blood trail. The suspect parked his truck on the opposite side of the aisle... there."

She points to an empty space about six spaces down on the opposite side from Sara's truck. They both nod and turn back to scan the entire crime scene as she continues, "Her keys are under the truck by the back wheel. There was a struggle inside the rear storage area of her truck. Then he carried her to his vehicle where he put her in the back camper."

"Got it... and you'll be?"

"I'm taking Grissom back to the lab. We need to go over the surveillance tapes and analyze them. Nick, have Sara's truck towed in when you're done. And then drive Grissom's truck in for him."

"Sure."

She hands him the keys to Grissom's truck with a worried smile before she turns back to Grissom. He is still staring at the blood stains on the ground as if hoping they will tell him something important. When Catherine steps into his line of view he looks up, nods and follows her back to her truck. The guys watch them go, realizing how upset Grissom is by what happened. They were all upset, but being friends with Sara wasn't the same as being in love with her.

Back at the lab, Catherine gives the appearance of it being any other day. She and Gil walk directly back to the audio/visual lab to find Archie, the video expert. He is talking to another employee, but they stop as Catherine gives them a friendly smile.

"Hey, Archie... can we steal you for a few moments?"

"Sure, Catherine, what do you have?"

Catherine steps closer, but doesn't say anything as her eyes move to the other employee. She doesn't have to say a word as the young woman gets the message and quickly moves towards the door with her parting comment.

"Aahh... I'll talk to you later, Archie. I have to be getting back to Serology."

They wait until she is out the door, then Grissom closes it behind her and pushes a button that will darken all the windows to give them privacy. Archie is beginning to realize this is something more than the usual work request.

Catherine is holding out a disk to him as she explains, "Archie, this is a very high priority case... and very sensitive. I need you to cue up this disk... then leave us alone for a few minutes to watch it, okay?"

"Sure."

"Don't go too far though... we're gonna need you to do some enhancements on it after we're done."

"Okay... I'll just be outside... watching the door then."

"Thanks, Archie."

He puts the disk into his computer and keys it up on the big screen, but doesn't hit play. He then stands up, motioning Catherine into his seat as he says, "Just hit play."

She sits down and Gil comes to stand beside her as they wait for Archie to leave the room. When they are alone Catherine gives Gil a concerned look. "You want to sit down first?"

"No, just play it."

"Okay, but I'm warning you now... It's not pretty."

She punches the button and four cameras pop up different angles of the west parking lot. Catherine punches in a time and the video leaps forward to just before Sara's appearance. When she begins her walk through the parking lot, Catherine again types on the keyboard and the one camera enlarges to fill the entire screen. Gil stands tensely beside her, watching Sara walk happily towards her truck. He sees the smile on her face and recalls their conversation just before she left him in the room. He stifles a groan of pain as he now watches Sara opening her truck's rear door.

Even expecting the attack, Gil is shocked by how quickly the suspect is on her. She is thrown into her truck and held down by the man, but manages to fight for several seconds. Gil forces himself to stand still and watch when every fiber in his soul is screaming at him to do something. He watches the suspect punching her until she no longer struggles against him, then quickly hoist her onto his shoulder and hurry away.

Catherine gives him a quick glance when he lets out a long, tense sigh, but his eyes remain glued to the screen. She quickly types in the next command and the other camera jumps to full screen to show the suspect dumping Sara in the back of his truck and jumping in to pull her inside. A moment later he emerges with a roll of duct tape, looks around and tosses the tape back inside. He closes up the truck and drives off. Even when the tape is done, Gil stands staring at the screen intently.

"You okay, Gil?"

"Aahh... Yeah..." He clears his throat and finally lowers his eyes to hers, seeing her concern. He smiles shakily and places his hand on her shoulder for support as he adds, "Thanks... for stepping up on this one... I... I just..."

"Hey... you've been there for me lots of times in the past..."

There is a long tense silence between them as Catherine reaches up to cover his hand with her own. Gil lowers his eyes to study their hands and after a long moment sighs sadly, "I love her, Catherine..."

"I know you do... and we're gonna find her, Gil."

He nods his head and then turns away from her before she can see the tears clouding his vision. How could something like this happen... now, after the perfect night he and Sara had? His evening had all been a dream and now he realized it was turning into a nightmare.

He pulls himself together now, once again clearing his throat. There was something bothering him about all of this, but right now he couldn't get his mind to think past what he needed to do next.

"Can you handle this... with Archie? I have to tell Eckley what happened."

"You want me to handle Eckley?"

"No, I'll do it. I need you here." He points to the screen, indicating he wasn't able to watch Sara's ordeal over and over again while the video was being enhanced.

He turns towards the door, dreading his next task, but knowing the boss has to be told. As he reaches for the door, Catherine calls out softly some very good advice.

"Hey, Gil... remember... he only needs to know what happened this morning."

"Yeah... but how do I explain why we were there?"

"Simple... you were doing a last minute follow up at the end of your shift."

Gil smiles back and nods, realizing it would probably be best to be as vague as possible about the circumstances for being there. He just hopes Eckley doesn't ask too many questions about it. He pulls the door open and heads out, motioning Archie to go back inside with Catherine. As he walks down the hallway he pulls out his cell phone and punches his friend's number. When Captain Jim Brass comes on the line, Gil asks to meet him outside Eckley's office in ten minutes. He doesn't give a reason, but Brass knows him well enough to know it's something serious.

Grudgingly Grissom had to give him credit; Eckley had the entire lab on alert with this case taking top priority... just as Grissom would have done. They wanted to keep it low key and out of the press, but at the same time all the employees had to know they were working a case on one of their own. Grissom had gotten out of Eckley's office without too many probing questions, even though Eckley's narrowed eyes showed his concerns about why his two employees were there at all.

His friend, however, was more direct. Having inside knowledge about Gil's relationship with Sara, he barely waits until they are alone in his office to ask about it. Grissom isn't in the mood and snaps at his friend, but Brass isn't put off that easy.

"So, buddy... I didn't hear about any calls for service at the Rampart last night."

"Do we have to clear all follow ups with you now, Jim? Eckley is bad enough without you being on my case too!"

"No, but I tried to reach you last night... no answer. Just kept going to voicemail. And your team, well they just said you must be busy... with your follow up."

Grissom doesn't answer as he leans back in his chair to glare at Brass; recognizing the smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. When Brass holds his stare, Grissom is the first one to look away... a big mistake. Brass knew he was hiding something as soon as he dropped his eyes and goes in to full interrogator mode.

"It was pretty slow last night... not much to do for you lab geeks. But you managed to get 'wrapped up' in your follow up. At the Rampart, right?"

Grissom can hear the double meaning in his words as Brass fishes for confirmation of what he already suspects. Grissom leans forward, resting his arms on the desk as he lowers his voice to growl, "Jim, I'm not in the mood for games... so if you have a question... ask it!"

Jim mimics his position, leaning in with his arms on the desk. He then nods, lowering his voice as well, "Okay. Was your follow up with Sara... successful?"

Grissom's first thought is denial, but then he realizes he doesn't want to deny what he had with Sara any longer. He gives Brass another long look, but this one without any animosity before he sighs, "Is my sex life really that important right now? Sara has been kidnapped, Jim... my priority is getting back the most important person in my life."

"Ordinarily I would say yes... hearing that you actually have a relationship... of a sexual nature would be important. But for now, I'll let that thought simmer in the back of my mind until we solve this thing." Brass stands up and heads for the door; stopping with his hand on the knob to look back before he leaves, "...then I want details."

"Thank you." Grissom's words are sarcastic and he knows Brass won't let it go for long. He couldn't worry about fending off his friend's prying questions now, he had to get his "A" game on if he was going to have any chance of bringing Sara back alive. There was still something bothering him, nagging at him like the first hints of a tooth ache coming on... not quite a glaring pain, just something he couldn't identify yet. He decides to head back down to Archie's lab and see what progress he and Catherine have had in enhancing the video.

He knocks first, then enters the room to see Catherine and Archie hovering over the computer screen, but the projection screen is black. They relax when they see Grissom and Archie taps a button to bring the images back to the large screen.

"What do you have?"

"We were able to clean up the resolution on the main camera... the one where she's walking out to her car. The other camera must have a dirty lens or something because no matter what, I can't clean it up anymore."

"Let me see it... from the start." Grissom comes to stand next to Catherine, but his eyes are glued to the big screen as Archie goes back to punching buttons.

While they wait, Catherine gives her friend a sideways glance, trying to gauge his emotional state. He looks down at her, knowing from the worry in her eyes what she is thinking and simply nods.

"All right... here we go from the beginning. Sara comes into frame here... on her way out... looks to have just showered since her hair is still wet... and smiling..." Archie's running commentary is cut short as Catherine leans over to smack him on the shoulder.

"Archie! Without the running commentary, please?" She glares at him and then turns back, hoping Grissom wasn't too embarrassed. To her surprise she sees the corner of his mouth curl up as his arm gently bumps hers.

His face turns red and he drops his eyes to his monitor as they all fall silent as the moment of the abduction nears. Grissom can't help holding his breath, praying it won't happen this time, but knowing he can't do anything to stop it. Just before the assailant enters the frame, Grissom clears his throat, "Archie... go to half speed. I want every frame with his face on it still-framed."

"You got it, Grissom." Archie goes to work on his keyboard and then a moment later the video is rolling as if in slow motion. They watch as the man comes up behind Sara, focused on his prey and the frame stops as Archie hits a button to freeze a shot of his profile.

A moment later it begins again and Grissom is forced to watch the assault in slow motion; which is harder than he expected it to be. Seeing it happen in a few seconds was bad enough, but watching his fist draw back and slam into her face repeatedly in slow motion was excruciating. Archie hits the freeze frame a few more times, but it isn't until the suspect flops Sara's limp body up over his shoulder and turns back towards his car that Grissom's nagging worry turns into a full blown throb.

"STOP! Freeze frame that! When he looks towards the camera!"

Archie jumps at his loud shout and has to back up the video a few frames to get back to the right spot. Grissom steps up to the screen, squinting at the blurry figure. "Can't you enhance this?! Make his face clearer... or zoom in or something?!"

"Gil, what is it? Do you know that guy?" Catherine is quick to pick up on her friend's tension.

Archie is typing furiously on his computer keyboard and they both watch as he narrows the focus to the man's face, then a flurry of pixels flutter across the image as he sharpens the focus as best he can. A few moments later, when the screen displays the newly enhanced close up of the man, the sound of Grissom's curse echoes off the silent walls.

"SON-OF-A-BITCH! IT'S HIM!" Grissom is stabbing his index finger at the screen in his agitation at recognizing the man who has abducted Sara.

"WHO? Do you know that guy?!" Catherine is worried now, not only by Grissom's uncharacteristic outburst, but from the way his whole body is shaking now as he glares at the screen. "GRISSOM!?"

At her raised voice, Grissom finally turns to face his two co-workers with an anguished look on his face. With all of the stress of the day... he is drawing a blank on the man's name! "It's Sara's ex-boyfriend... pre-Las Vegas."


	10. Chapter 10

**I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN WAY TOO LONG COMING AND I DO APOLOGIZE! HOPE YOU ENJOY AND I'LL TRY TO GET THE NEXT ONES OUT SOONER.**

CHAPTER 10

Blackness and silence, peaceful in its lack of stimulus and Sara's mind floated on it with no conscious thought, emotion or desire. It seemed a perfect place to be; far away from the tormenting memories of being raised in an abusive home. Far away from the disturbing choices of her youth which lead her on a circular path right back to the nightmare existing of her childhood. Far away from the gnawing, self-loathing which forced Sara to try harder than everyone else... be more perfect than everyone else, just to find acceptance in the world.

But there was a light at the end of that lonely tunnel for her... a hand, gently stroking her cheek. A husky voice whispering her name; bringing to life those long hidden desires to be loved, to be accepted for who she was. Sara let herself drift towards that voice, towards that softly stroking hand... towards the man she's loved for so long. And slowly the black veil of unconsciousness begins to lift and Sara's mind can focus only on the man who brought her out of her pathetically lonely life.

Her eyes try to open, but there is something wrong. She moans softly, trying to re-enter the bright world she can glimpse through the tiny slits as her lids flutter against a heavy veil of pain. She briefly manages to open one eye further, glimpsing the bright light and the silhouette of the man stroking her cheek. Sara is confused, but at the same time filled with warmth as she forces the word from her dry throat.

"Grissom..." Then, her one usable eye focuses on the face as it comes closer and her warmth turns to cold, hard fear in her chest. The face of the man is at first gentle and concerned as he leans in to catch her barely audible whisper. But it is quickly replaced a groan of rage as he realizes the name she uttered was not his own. His fist jerks away from her face, then slams down on the swollen face in an act of jealous retribution and Sara's fears vanish as she is thrown back into the world of black indifference.

How dare she utter that bastard's name?! His fist pulls back a second time, but he hesitates, realizing Sara has once again slipped into unconsciousness from the latest blow to her temple. Johnny! Johnny Nash! That was the name she should be muttering with such longing... not the name of that creepy old man who lured her away from him four years ago. Nash glares angrily down at the love of his life, cursing her for making him once again lose his temper.

Sara had always good at making him lose his temper, even when she appeared to be doing everything he wanted her to do. There was always some little thing, a look, a hesitation to do his bidding and he'd know; she was mocking him again. Then he'd be forced to show her the error of her ways; force her back into the right frame of mind. The problem was, even when he was beating her for her insolence, she would somehow manage to enrage him further and he'd lose control and take his frustrations out on her. Like now, Johnny stares at her unconscious form, watching a small trickle of blood ooze from the cut on her ear where his fist had made contact. That was her fault! He had tried to wake her up gently, wanting to see the old smile on her face as she looked into his eyes. But she had to ruin it by uttering that man's name!

It has been for four years and during that time, Sara had never made any attempts to contact him, ask him for help in getting away from that creep she worked for. So he had no illusions that she would ask for his help this time. That was why he had to do things this way; ambushing her in the parking lot, forcing her to come with him. In his mind, it was like rescuing her from a cult that had brainwashed his sweet Sara. Now he needed to keep her isolated, deprived of all outside stimuli until he could clear her mind and get her properly focused on him again. Nash paces back and forth in front of her, at a loss as to how to get that man out of her head. He decides to let her sleep this off and maybe she'll be more reasonable when she wakes again. He checks her bindings, ensuring she is securely contained before he grabs his jacket and heads for the door.

Nash slips outside the door of the dingy motel room; stepping into an equally dingy world that seemed to come to life when the sun went down in this sin filled city. The underbelly of Las Vegas was no place for his precious Sara, but until he could break the ties that Grissom had over her mind, he couldn't risk moving them back to San Francisco where they belonged. With a suspicious glance in all directions, he sees no one paying any particular attention to him or his room. He hoped no one had seen him unloading his cargo into the room so early this morning... a time when he knew these night crawlers of Las Vegas would be passed out or creeping back under the rocks they came from for the day. With one last tug on his room door, Nash hunches his thin shoulders and walks off towards the street, following the flow of riff-raff moving out to intercept the partying tourists looking for sex, drugs or something more dangerous.

* * *

Why couldn't he remember his name? Grissom's mind held millions of useless facts about a myriad of topics; some he wished not to remember, but he did. So why now, when it was so important... so urgent; why couldn't he recall the name of the man who had kidnapped Sara? Sitting at his desk in his dark office, Gil's hands support his head, somehow hoping that would help him to recall this important fact.

Catherine stops in his doorway, seeing the dejected posture of her boss; a man normally not given to depression and self-doubt. Yes, he had his moments when he could be a real pain in the ass, but that was never due to his contentious personality. Grissom was a man who no matter what he felt about you, treated you fairly and with respect. The fact that he felt there were only a handful of people in all of humanity that merited true respect was not something many people knew.

She steps into the room, having figured out so far that Sara has been abducted by her previous, abusive boyfriend. She gracefully lowers her body into the chair opposite his and lifts her feet to rest on the edge of his desk; finally drawing attention to herself.

"So... nothing popping out of that brain of yours yet?"

His head comes up to see her smiling at him and he wonders how long she has been seated there, studying him. "No... I see his face... I hear their argument... I..."

He suddenly sits back in frustration, knowing he has replayed the same scene from the San Francisco symposium four years ago hundreds of times with no luck. He had been teaching a class on forensic entomology when a commotion at the back of the room caught his attention. Before it could disrupt his class, he calmly excused himself, hopped down from the stage and made his way back to where the couple were arguing.

"I heard the commotion and stopped the class to go ask this couple who were arguing in the back to kindly take their dispute out into the hall. When I got there, this guy had Sara's arm twisted cruelly in his attempts to make her go with him. It was pretty obvious she didn't want to go from the fear in her eyes."

"That was the first time you met Sara, right?" Catherine had only heard snippets about their meeting at a symposium in San Francisco. Grissom had never shared the details and Sara sure as hell had never told anyone about her past before coming to work here.

"Yes... and to my everlasting regret, I didn't see the situation for what it was at the time. I was more concerned with them having disrupted my class since the entire audience was by then watching us. I still remember the sad resignation in her eyes when I told them to 'please step outside and not return if they couldn't conduct themselves in a more professional manner'. He calmed down, verbally at least and gave her arm a jerk and she went with him quietly."

Grissom once again covers his face with his hands and slowly rubs his palms down over it, trying to wipe away the guilt he's lived with ever since that day. Catherine knows her boss well and remains silent until he once again continues his tale.

"She left all her books, study materials... even her wallet behind. Should have been a huge red flag... but I just didn't see it until after the class when another student brought her things to me and explained the woman had left them behind. I told her I would take care of it, since I was to blame for her not returning to my class. I found an address on her ID in her wallet and decided to go drop it off since my class was done and I didn't fly home until the next morning."

Grissom is staring at the pen in his hands, slowly unscrewing the pieces, to dismantle the parts and laying them out side by side. Then he slowly re-assembles the pen, only to take it apart again. Catherine waits, but when he doesn't speak again, she prompts him to continue. "So, you obviously found her...?"

"I did. Living in a rundown apartment building, that had once been a nice place, but had fallen to the ravages of time and a seedy tenant base. The mailboxes didn't match the name on her ID so..."

"It must have been in the boyfriend's name! Gil, do you recall the mailbox name?"

He thinks hard, trying to focus his mind as he replays that particular portion of his memory again. He shakes his head in frustration and sighs, "No... I... I remember going up to the apartment... knocking and waiting a long time. I knocked again, not wanting to leave her bag out in the hallway where it was sure to be stolen." He pauses as his mind recalls that feeling of regret when he realized he wouldn't see the girl again. "I was just about to leave the bag when a soft voice called out from inside, asking who it was. Sara's voice was trembling, fearful and I knew then I'd made a mistake in letting that guy drag her out of the room."

He suddenly sits up straight as a portion of that foggy memory comes into focus for him. He snaps his fingers as the name comes to him. "Nash! The name on the mailbox was Nash. N-A-S-H! I remember as she opened the door... I saw her black eye, the puffy lip and I was filled with rage. I wanted to pummel that creep and I demanded to know where he was."

Grissom is now standing as he paces back and forth behind his desk. Catherine remains still, hoping his memory breakthrough will give them more than a last name. "Was he there? This Nash guy?"

"No and Sara was too afraid to tell me what happened... other than to say she should have asked his permission before she signed up for my class. I wanted to stay and talk, but she was afraid of what would happen if her boyfriend came home and found me there. So, we ended up taking a long walk along the Wharf, stopping at a small park where we talked for hours."

"So, is that when you offered her the job here? To help her get away from that creep?"

"I offered to help her get into her own place... to a shelter... to the hospital or the police station... but no, I didn't offer her a job at that time. She was a typical battered woman, too afraid to take the steps necessary to get away from her tormentor."

Grissom stops pacing to examine one of his specimen jars on the shelf behind his desk as his mind recalls the rest of the story. "I gave her my cell phone and my business card. Told her to call me if and when she was ready to make a change. It's all I could do... she wasn't ready to take that step. I'd been home from that trip about two weeks when I got a call here... from a nurse in the emergency room at a hospital in the Bay area. Sara was there... he'd beat her pretty badly and the nurse found my card in her pocket and called."

Catherine vaguely recalled Grissom's unexpected return to San Francisco, but he never told anyone what the trip was about. "I remember when you lit out of here."

"I got there before she was released from the hospital. He was there, demanding they let her go home with him. Thank god that nurse was part bulldog because she got right in his face and told him Sara wasn't going anywhere with him and called the police. He was arrested... Catherine! He was arrested! There'll be a record with the... aah... aah... where the hell was that hospital?!"

He thinks for a moment and forces his mind to dig deeper for the memories he needs. "San Mateo... it was in San Mateo. They arrested him for assaulting Sara and threatening the nurse. That's when I convinced Sara to move away from there... make a clean break from him while he was in custody and couldn't follow her."

"Okay, I'll make the call to the San Mateo police department... for any DV arrests of a guy named Nash from four years ago." She gets up and hurries from the room, glad to have something proactive to do, instead of sitting there watching Grissom mentally flogging himself for letting this happen.

* * *

The next time Sara manages to emerge from the dark oblivion, she is just as confused as before. Why couldn't she open her eyes? What were those unfamiliar sounds? She vaguely recalls opening her eyes and seeing... who? She'd called out Grissom's name, but... then all she remembers is pain and darkness. How could Grissom be connected to the pain and confusion she is experiencing right now? She feels nausea rising in her throat and takes several deep, calming breaths until the throbbing in her head subsides and the bile retreats a little.

Her eyes are useless to her and for some unknown reason, she is in complete darkness. She feels like her eyes are open, but yet she can't see anything... but were they open? Her lids feel puffy and heavy to the point she can't even blink. She needs to examine them closer, but when she tries to move her hand to rub her face, she finds her arm won't move.. She lies there a long moment wondering if she is paralyzed... no, she can rotate her wrists and clench her fists so she wasn't paralyzed. She tries to move again and that is when she feels the bite of the restraints on her wrists.

Shock crashes through her as she realizes both her hands and feet have been bound. What happened to her?! Where was she?! And who had done this to her?! The last thing she recalls is spending the night with Grissom... and there certainly hadn't been any restraints used then. But what happened next? She had to leave... for...for what? Court, that was it. She was hurrying out to her SUV because she was about to be late for court. She remembers making it to her car, opening the back to put her kit inside, but then... the memory of her abduction crashes into her consciousness and with a gasp of fear, Sara remembers! He had come at her so fast... so hard in a blitz attack that she hadn't seen him coming. She tried to fight him... for all her personal combat training, it hadn't helped much. The last thing she remembers is his fist crashing down on her face over and over again... and then blackness.

Well, that explained why she couldn't open her eyes and suddenly as if the memory has awakened the nerves her face begins to throb. Each individual strike which left a bruise and swelling was making itself known with acute clarity and Sara moans as the pain becomes too intense and she sags back onto the musty smelling blanket beneath her. The nausea once again threatens to overtake her and she has no option but to raise her head and lean in what she hopes is the direction of the side of the bed.

When her gut is aching from retching up the empty contents of her stomach, Sara sags back, thankful she was not lying in her own vomitus. She again takes calming breathes as she wills the throbbing in her head and face to recede. While she lies there panting softly, her mind is working overtime... trying to put the missing pieces in place. She woke up once before... and the man, or the vague outline of a man, had been here. Obviously she was alone now, but had her mind been playing tricks on her? Had she actually seen Johnny bending over her and stroking her face so tenderly?

At first she had thought it was Grissom... his hands were always gentle and caring, but the voice hadn't been right. Then when she called his name, the figure leaned in and she barely got a glimpse of his face. Johnny's rage filled, snarling face... just before his fist landed solidly on her temple and the blackness returned. Her mind is still so fuzzy... was it really him? How had he and Grissom come to be at the same place?

She once again takes stock of her various aching body parts and realizes that her face seems to have sustained the brunt of the attack. Her arms and legs hurt only because they were tightly bound, but she couldn't be sure of more serious injuries until she had a chance to move her extremities. At this point her arms were pretty much numb from the position they had been in for so long. Her legs could move, somewhat, but every time she tried to straighten them, she felt it tugging on her wrists. She experiments a couple more times, bending her knees, then trying to straighten them. She had been hog-tied... with her hands and feet bound by the same restraint rope so she couldn't stand up.

Sara can't do anything right now except lie there and hope her head quit throbbing so she could keep the nausea at bay. She concentrates on controlling her breathing, focusing on the to keep the panic from taking control of her. While she lies there, she lets her analytical mind take over and shoves her emotional mind into a far back corner. Okay, she couldn't see, but that didn't mean she didn't have other senses.

She takes a deep breath through her nose, identifying the musty odor of the blanket, possibly mold somewhere in the room... a more distant and faint aroma of bitter alcohol or stale beer. This told her she was most likely in some fleabag motel... definitely not on the same caliber as the room she and Grissom shared last night.

She listens intently as she slows her breathing to hear the activity in the rooms around her. She hears a loud television... playing what sounded like a porno flick since there wasn't actually an words being spoken over the bawdy music playing. She listened harder, trying to put that sound aside. Yes, there were people talking outside... saying something about 'loose slots... and 'cheap buffets.' With a sigh of relief, Sara deduces she must still be in Las Vegas... or one of its suburbs where the casino's were still plentiful enough to support this type of establishment.

Or... she could be in any number of other small towns scattered around Nevada that tried to draw unsuspecting people in by offering loose slots and all-you-can-eat buffets. She quickly does a mental listing of the towns she knew that were large enough to support such places... Laughlin, Henderson, Sparks, Reno... Suddenly her panic rises again... if this was Johnny who had abducted her he would most certainly try to make it back to the Bay area as quickly as possible to avoid detection. That meant heading up the 95 Highway; which ran straight through Reno.

Sara has no concept of time... knowing only that it was dark in the room where she was now. How long had she been unconscious? How long had she been missing? Was anyone even looking for her? She calms her rising panic by repeating over and over... "Grissom will know... Grissom will find me... Grissom will know... Grissom will find me..." The mental fatigue and physical injuries begin to weigh heavily on her and eventually Sara's body can take no more as she slips back into the black haven of nothingness.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

Notifications are sent out to all law enforcement agencies in Nevada. Checkpoints and '_be on the look-out' (BOLO) _notices for Nash and his vehicle are sent to every airport, bus and train security offices, but so far there have been no sightings of Nash's beat up truck. A deputy sheriff who works the Pahrump area sees the B.O.L.O from Las Vegas and believes Nash looks like man who robbed liquor store there with a gun a few days ago. He quickly contacts the Las Vegas Police Department with his information; leaving it to Captain Brass to relay the information to Gil and Catherine.

"Looks like our misfit knocked off a liquor store in Pahrump a few days ago." Jim sits at ease in Grissom's office as he tosses the artist's sketch of the suspect from that crime onto his friend's desk. He sits looking from his Grissom to Catherine and back again, to gauge their response as they survey the likeness.

"Are they sure it was him? Pahrump is sixty miles west of Vegas and well off the main highway." Catherine has images of her last trip out to the small, dingy town on a previous case in mind; and can't understand why anyone would want to go there.

"No, Cath... it makes sense. Think about it, if you're Nash... you're trying to stay under the radar. You wouldn't hit a place here in town..." Grissom leans forward in his chair, tapping his finger on the blotter as he continues, "... you'd hit some place small, out of the way..."

"Like Pahrump. Yeah, I see where you're coming from." Jim Brass waggles his finger side to side at Grissom in agreement as he picks up this line of thinking. "And maybe... you're staying at a hotel or motel in that run down piece of hell, too."

Catherine reluctantly admits there is credence to the argument about Pahrump being a good place to stay off the radar of law enforcement in Nevada. There was nothing in that town except some old mining interests and the people who worked them, a couple of dingy casinos and a bunch of local folk who liked the fact that they were in the middle of nowhere and getting little to no attention from the outside world.

Grissom can't stand sitting round doing nothing and he glares at the likeness of Nash from the Pahrump bulletin as his gut churns. "Did we send that FAX out to all the hotels and motels in the Vegas area or statewide? If this guy is in Pahrump..."

"It's out there, Gil... I personally sent it out to all hotels and motels on our network to check for his name, her name or his truck on registries. So far nothing has come in from any hotel or motel."

"I'm not sure all the small run down motels are on that fax network, Catherine... or if they even pay attention to those bulletins we send out." Brass, always the bearer of good news, feels the need to enlighten them as to the reality of the less reputable lodging establishments in their state.

"Brass... you're not helping. Can we focus on doing something positive... like checking them one by one?" Grissom knows the minute the words leave his mouth how unrealistic his request is, but the looks from his two friends only confirm it.

"You want us to personally check with ever low-end motel, hotel and hostel in Vegas... or were you suggesting we check every one in Nevada?" Brass can't keep the smirk from the corner of his mouth when he sees Grissom's eyes roll at his sarcasm.

"Yes! No... hell, I'll do it myself if it means finding Sara before that nut case has a chance to take her out of state." Grissom's anger is not directed at them as he shoves himself back in his chair.

Just then there is a knock on his door and Greg peaks his head in, unsure of his welcome after overhearing Grissom's latest outburst. "Hey... Grissom...?"

"Yeah, what is it, Greg?" Grissom tries hard to keep the frustration out of his voice as he addresses the timid lab tech.

"Uhm, I got a hit... from Sara's bank." He steps into the office as all three supervisors turn their attention to him. "Someone has been trying to use her debit card... mainly at off-site ATM's."

"Any video?"

"Not so far... he's being careful to only use ATM's in gas stations, laundromats... places like that where they don't have cameras for the most part."

"Where were the attempts made at, Greg?" Grissom again leans forward, believing this may be a break for them after three days of frustration.

"Well, that's the problem... they're all over the place. Some in South Vegas, north side, Henderson..."

"Anything out west... like towards Pahrump?"

"Pahrump... no, nothing that far out... but there are a couple from the west suburbs of Vegas... why?"

Catherine holds up the bulletin with the sketch of the liquor store robber so Greg can look it over. He steps closer to examine it and then comments, "Wow... looks like Nash. You think he's out there?"

"Right now... we don't know where they are Greg... don't let one BOLO distract you from the wider search, okay?" As always, Grissom's wisdom cuts through to the heart of the matter.

Greg nods and gives the BOLO one last look before he mumbles something about getting back to his search and leaving them alone once again. A tense silence stretches on in his absence until Catherine sighs and stands up with one last comment, "Looks like he's in need of money, Gil... robbing a liquor store, trying to access Sara's accounts... he's desperate to leave... but without money... he's still here."

"That's what I'm afraid of... he's desperate enough to do just about anything right now." Grissom's only thoughts are what he will do to Sara if he gets angry enough.

"That may work to our favor, Grissom. Nash may be desperate enough to make a mistake. So far he's been pretty careful... staying off the radar, keeping his activities widespread to defeat our attempts to track him. He may just try something stupid and then we'll get him... I promise." Jim also stands up to take his leave and he and Catherine try to give their friend positive smiles, but he is lost in his own thoughts and doesn't even seem to notice as they leave.

Catherine knows she can't keep an eye on Grissom around the clock and with his desperation to find Sara, he could do something crazy like head out to Pahrump on his own... or go search every run-down motel in the area. She has never seen him like this, responding emotionally and not thinking things through in his normal logical approach. She decides to keep tabs on him just in case and heads to the Audio Visual Lab to discreetly ask Archie to ping Gil's phone once every hour, just to be on safe side. Archie was there when they watched the Rampart video and understands Catherine's concerns. He agrees to report only to her so no one else is aware they are tracking the boss.

The rest of the lab is working to process the evidence, as slim as it is from the Rampart. They have also contacted the San Francisco Police to get the full history on their suspect. Not surprisingly, he was in trouble with the law a lot after Sara left him; as well as the domestic violence stuff with her. After she left he went off the deep end and began a mini crime spree; wanting to be killed by a cop. Nash was eventually taken into custody without getting his wish and sent to prison for 2.5 years on a string of robbery convictions.

Nash was released from prison three months ago and according to records he was supposed to be living with his in Modesto. Nash absconded from parole after only one month and hasn't been seen since by anyone in northern California. The local cop did some follow-up with his mother in their attempts to locate Nash, but she could only say that he talked about Sara a lot after he got out. He wanted to know where she was, where she was working now... and if she was all right. Nash hounded her old friends and work places, then one day he just disappeared. From what Grissom's team has been able to piece together; someone let it slip that Sara had moved to Las Vegas.

* * *

His plan had been to win big and then win Sara back in style, showing her how successful he was now. However, Nash had not planned on the crooked cheats that operated the gaming tables in Las Vegas stealing all of his money. He'd tried to confront them on it a time or two, but the goons who were hired as security for the casinos quickly threw him out the door with orders not to return or he'd be arrested. His plan turned to desperation after that; which quickly turned to panic as the days went by and he was reduced to doing day labor jobs with the illegals on the street corners just to make a few bucks to maintain this rat infested hotel room.

In his mind, being successful was the only way Sara would agree to come back to him. He'd been told she was working for some well-known lab down here, successful and respected. She would never take him back if he was an out of work loser... like he'd been back then. Being in prison and sharing a cell with a man who'd made his living conning older women out of their fortunes had taught him that. Women wanted men who were successful, wealthy and charming. Nash knew he could be all of those things if he could just make a score to establish his wealth. So in a last-ditch effort to win his fortune, he robbed a liquor store in Pahrump and managed to get away clean with all they had, a total of four-hundred and thirty-two dollars.

With that money he returned to the false glitz and glitter of Las Vegas, intent on winning his fortune at the poker tables. There were plenty of casino's that he hadn't been thrown out of yet, but little did he know, the casinos shared information about trouble makers. And in his short time in Las Vegas, Nash had already managed to earn that label. It was that morning, when he sat in the Rampart Casino, grumbling at the poker dealer about the questionable dealing of the cards when he once again brought himself to the attention of the security officers.

At first, he was shocked when he'd been rudely grabbed by the scruff of his neck and dragged off the gaming floor by those two goons in suits. They gave him a none too gentle shove into a back hallway that Nash realized as being 'off limits' to normal customers. He began to realize he may be in some trouble when they shoved him into a darkened room that smelled of disinfectant and mildew. When the door closed behind them and the two goons turned their attention to him once more... Nash had no doubts... this was not going to end well. After they had worked him over and given him their gangster spiel about waking up in a shallow grave in the desert if he ever returned, they dragged him out the back entrance of the casino. Dumping him roughly on the asphalt parking lot with one last warning that he was not welcome on any of the Sam Braun owned properties, they left him there; bleeding from his lip and gasping for breath from having the wind knocked out of him.

It took him a few minutes to struggle to his feet, at which time he glared back at the door the two goons had disappeared through. He was tempted to charge back in there and show them a thing or two... then he recalled the strength of the two brutes and decided to heed their warning. He wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve and trudged back to his truck, pouting at the injustice of these crooked gaming establishments when his luck changed.

He saw two black SUV's parked side by side and gave them a passing glance, recognizing them as unmarked police vehicles. He glanced around nervously, wondering if they were there for him. When he didn't see any cops converging on him to arrest him; he looked back to the two black vehicles and glimpsed the sticker on door which caught his attention. _Las Vegas Metro Crime Lab Unit_. That was the lab Sara worked for! Just when he thought his luck couldn't get any worse, he'd found a light at the end of the tunnel. He hurried back to his truck and pulled out as if leaving... unfortunately for the lazy security monitor inside the Casino's control room, they thought so too and quit following his progress as it appeared he was heading for the exit.

Instead, Nash repositioned his truck one aisle over from where the two Lab vehicles were parked. He sat inside his truck, using the rear view mirror to watch the vehicles behind him. If he were patient, he would be able to see who came back to the SUV's. Then maybe he could follow them back to their lab and wait until he caught a glimpse of his girl, Sara.

* * *

When Sara wakes again she feels cool a rag on her face and tender hands and once again thinks about Grissom... but for some reason she is afraid to speak his name. This fear confuses her because Grissom has always been her beacon of calm in an otherwise turbulent world for her. Being analytical by nature, Sara pretends to be unconscious as she tries to decipher her unmistakable feelings of fear; when she should be basking in the loving attention she is receiving. As she begins to get her bearings a voice softly speaks to her, causing the fearful feelings to stampede her heart rate.

"Come on, Sara. I know you're awake."

She recognizes voice and her mind is racing for a way out... was this a nightmare? No, she recalled vaguely waking twice before to find this was all painfully real. She is filled with fear, but opens eyes slowly to see Nash there beside her. He is smiling and happy, which scares her even more. He continues to wipe dried blood from her face with a damp cloth as her eyes dart around the room.

Still the same room, but now it is daylight again and she is confused. Her throat is sore and dry and she avoids making eye contact as she mumbles, "Where are we?"

"Don't you worry... this is only temporary. We'll be back home where we belong soon."

She knows he is talking about San Francisco and the thought of going back to the hell she lived through with him there is enough to make tears come to her eyes. He gently wipes them away, thinking she is happy to hear this news as he adds, "I know... Mother is anxious to see you too. We can't wait to have you back home again."

"What day is this? How long have I been here?" She tries to sound casual so she won't trigger his anger, but with him it is never a certainty what will set him off. She sees him tense as his anger flashes and he tries to control it by taking a deep breath, but then relaxes when she quickly covers to avoid another beating. "I...I just wanted to know how much time I've wasted sleeping when we could be together, Johnny... it... it's been so long."

Her ploy works and he smiles and returns to his tender administrations. "We've been here three days, love. But it won't be long and we'll be on our way home. Just need to take care of a few things first."

He doesn't mention that he's spent the last day and a half trying to access Sara's bank account using her debit card, ID and claiming to be her brother. Nothing has worked and he knows they need her money to get home since he all the money he stole from his mother and then that liquor store in Pahrump was taken from him by those cheating casinos.

"Don't you worry, Baby Doll... we just need to get you cleaned up a bit. Then we'll make a quick stop and be on our way. I promise."

Sara lies perfectly still, not even flinching as he rubs the rag across her sore face in his attempts to clean her up. His words cause her much more distress than his clumsy ministrations at the moment and she tries to figure out what he could possibly mean by making one quick stop before they leave. And where were they exactly? It was definitely a rundown motel of some sort, but Nevada was filled with those... especially around the Las Vegas area. Sara can offer up a silent prayer that Grissom and the gang at the lab are able to find her before Nash whisks her away to California. She tries one last ploy, since he was being so nice... for the moment.

"Johnny... can you please release my hands and feet so I can go to the restroom? I... I'm feeling sick..."

His hand stills on her cheek, his face giving away nothing as he stares down at her, trying to decide if this was a trick... or she really did feel sick again. Considering he'd found vomit on the floor from the two previous times she'd awakened, he decides she may be telling him the truth. He tosses the rag aside and then leans over to untie the bindings on her wrists. Sara lies perfectly still as he undoes the knot around her ankles as well and then sits back up.

She tries to move her arms, but at first they refuse to move. A few more tries makes her whimper in pain as her arms move for the first time in days. Her wrists and hands are completely numb, but she manages to drag her left arm forward until it flops down on the bed in front of her, useless to her. She tries to move her legs, having a bit more luck with this since she's been able to move them slightly within the confines of her restraints. Another groan of pain as she struggles to sit up has Nash moving to sit closer as he helps her into a sitting position.

"Easy, Baby Doll... you shouldn't have laid in the same position so long. Your arms are asleep. Let me help you." He begins a vigorous rubbing of her right arm, which causes Sara to grit her teeth to keep from crying out in pain.

Her head is spinning again at this new position, but the pain helps her to focus on regaining control of her body. More than anything, his repeated use of his pet name for her, Baby Doll, was causing her nausea... she always associated that word with pain and punishment from him. She now moves her legs slowly, trying to increase the blood flow to them so she can stand and make it to the bathroom before she once again vomits on the filthy, stained carpeting. Within a few minutes, she is able to feel her feet and make them do what she commands. Her hands however are a bit slower to recover from being deprived of blood for so long. She can move her arms, but her hands have barely any motion to them and her fingers are still completely numb.

She tries to smile at her tormentor, letting him know he can stop his rough massage of her upper arms. "Can you help me stand up? I'm still a bit woozy." Nash helps her up and then escorts her to the restroom. She stops just inside the door, not wanting him to actually come in with her and help her in taking care of her personal business. "I... I'm good now... thank you."

He gets the message and backs out, closing the door part way so he won't have to see her retching into the toilet stained brown by hard water and inadequate housekeeping services over the years. When she is alone, for the most part, she staggers to the sink basin and leans heavily against it for stability on her trembling legs. The mirror is cracked and her image is fragmented, but she still gasps in horror as she sees her reflection. Bruised, swollen and disfigured Sara hardly recognizes the image as her own.


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

Grissom drives around aimlessly, going past all the places Nash has tried to access Sara's account, but with no success. What was he thinking? That Nash would just be standing out in front of one of these places? Waiting to be recognized? Grissom knew his thought processes were not logical at the moment and he had to get his head on straight if he was going to get Sara back.

The problem was his mind kept straying to images of how Sara had been when he first met her in San Francisco. She had been meek, submissive and afraid of her own shadow. It had taken two years of being with Nash to mold her into that frightened shell of the woman Grissom knew her to be today.

Sara was outgoing, and fun-loving and known for playing jokes on the others. She was intelligent and quick to see the slightest clues at a scene... sometimes even before he did. She was also considerate and loyal to her friends, whom she considered her family now.

In his brief relationship with her, Grissom had also discovered she was a passionate woman who molded herself to his desires before he even knew that 's what he wanted. He forces images of how Sara got that perceptive out of his mind. Their one night together was perfect and he had been amazed at how well Sara knew him... really knew him. He sighs heavily as he realizes, his biggest fear was that being under Nash's cruel control, no matter how brief, would cause her to revert back to that scared, introverted person she had been... and he just couldn't let that happen.

Horns honk and Grissom realizes he's been sitting at this intersection and the light, having turned green was now already back to yellow. Reacting to the horns behind him, he guns the engine and shoots through the intersection, barely missing a car from the opposite direction that was making a left hand turn as the intersection cleared.

Having swerved to miss the unsuspecting driver, Grissom took a deep breath and let the adrenalin rush ebb from his veins as he quickly found a parking lot to pull into and stop. He was out of control and his shaking hands were now clenched tightly to the wheel in an effort to regain some stability. What good was he to Sara by being a distracted driver and killing himself? He sits in the parking lot, safely out of harm's way, trying to figure out exactly where he was. He'd been so lost in thoughts of Sara that he didn't even know what part of town he was in right now.

* * *

Nick and Greg felt much of the same desperation to find their co-worker. They had no knowledge of her past life with this creep, but they knew from Grissom's reaction, it had to be bad. They had consulted with Catherine on the best plan of action since this guy was being so sporadic. They couldn't just sit around the lab waiting for some local LEO to get a hit on their BOLO.

Catherine agreed and sent them out to canvas the surrounding businesses where Nash had attempted to get money. Maybe one of them had surveillance footage outside that would allow them to see Nash coming or going and give them at least a direction of his travel. It was slim, but at the moment it was all they had to go on.

The two investigators lucked out and by the time they returned to the lab, they had copies of video tape from several businesses surrounding those ATMs. Now they needed to enlist the help of their A/V guru, Archie to make sense of it all.

"Hey, Arch... got a minute?"

"Ah, maybe. I'm still working on the Rampart footage for Catherine." Archie glances over his shoulder to see Nick and Greg hurrying towards him with several evidence bags.

They fall into step with him as he continues walking back to his lab with his now empty lunch container. "Looks to me like you're taking your lunch break, bud."

Archie just smiles at Nick's playful jab at having been caught taking a break. He shrugs and continues on, "Yea, well... gotta feed the machine, if you know what I mean."

"No doubt. We haven't eaten yet... since we were busy out collecting the video from every store surrounding those attempts at the ATMs."

"Find anything good?"

"We... found... a lot of bits and pieces. Brief glimpses of Nash coming and going. What we need from you, Archie, is to put together a timeline for us... you know, dates, times and directions of travel."

They have entered the A/V lab and Archie takes a moment to stash his lunch bag before he turns back to his friends with an understanding nod. "You need me to triangulate his movements... "

"...so we can maybe see where he's coming from... and going to... right-o, Archio!" Greg's enthusiasm was common and Archie didn't even bother to address the many versions of his name Greg came up with any more.

Nick snickers and hands over his tapes to Archie; followed by Greg setting his bags on the countertop beside him. "They're labeled by location and store. I'm gonna go update Catherine now, so I'm sure she'll want this bumped to the top of the pile."

As they turn to leave, Archie just sighs and looks at the pile of evidence bags holding no less than thirty separate video tapes from the surrounding stores. Good thing he just had his lunch break because his day was about to get very long and tedious. He gets started uploading this footage on his computer so he can sift through it moment by moment to document Nash's movements.

* * *

Sara had stayed in the bathroom as long as she felt she could without raising Nash's suspicious nature. She quickly scanned the bathroom window, although small and rusted shut, she was sure she could manage to get it open and shimmy out of it; given enough time.

The problem was, Nash wasn't likely to leave her alone long enough in there to allow her to free the window from its rusted frame. As if hearing her thoughts, a loud pounding on the door made her jump and gasp as Nash growled through the door.

"What's taking so long in there?!"

"I... I'm just..." The door is suddenly thrust open as Nash storms in, half expecting to find her halfway out the small window. His gaze towards the window, then back to her, clearly tells her he had considered that escape route also. Sara quickly covers by picking up the small towel and turning on the tap to dampen it, "I... I wanted to try to clean up... a bit. I know you want me to look my best."

Nash glares at her for a long moment, wondering if he should believe her. Then he watches as she tenderly dabs some of the dried blood off her face. He steps closer and Sara has to force her knees not to buckle in fear as he reaches up to touch her swollen cheek.

"I don't think make-up is going to do it this time, Baby Doll, but you should at least try."

"Is... is my stuff here?" She quickly darts a glance over his shoulder to the room, trying to see if her kit was there. Sara didn't carry a purse at work, only her scene kit and her wallet in her pocket. She carefully runs her hands down over her backside, feeling for the wallet, but already knowing Nash would have taken it from her.

"No, you forgot to bring it with you... forgetful as always. But don't worry, we'll grab you some new stuff soon." With that, Nash turned on his heel and returned to the main room to give a quick glance out the crack in the drawn curtains. "Almost dark. We can go get some things soon."

What Nash didn't say was that his truck was almost on empty, he had nothing but lint in the pockets of his worn-out jeans and if Sara didn't cooperate with getting them some money, things were about to get real ugly.

* * *

Archie finally had to surrender to the cramping in his neck and back. He'd been perched on his stool, staring at his computer screens for the past five hours and his body was screaming at him to get up and move around. He stands up slowly, groaning as his tense muscles protest even more.

Stepping outside his lab, Archie looks left, then right; realizing for the first time how late it has gotten. Glancing at his watch, he was surprised to see it was seven already. The normal hustle and bustle of the lab during the day had dissipated to the calmer, more serene night shift. The night shift was only half the staff as day shift so less, people meant less commotion. Besides, the night shift was always busier and the techs were usually out working a scene.

Archie liked working the evening shift, which was two until midnight. It gave him the best of both worlds. He could sleep in and spend time with his girlfriend... and when he got to work, he only had to put up with the day shift guys for a couple of hours before they left at four. He stretches and lets a long, slow groan rumble out of him as he releases the tension of the last few hours.

"Hope that isn't a groan of frustration."

He quickly jerks back from his lengthy stretch to see Catherine standing before him smiling. "Ah, no... just loosening up my back and neck. Been hunched over the A/V screens all day looking over that video Nick and Greg brought in."

"How's it going? Any luck isolating Nash and his movements?" She is glancing over his shoulder at the images still on his screen. It is obvious she is anxious for information so he turns back to his lab; putting his stroll to the break room off for the moment.

"Some. I've been able to triangulate the locations of the ATMs with the direction he approaches and leaves each site. Then I overlaid that information onto a basic map of the Vegas area... and surrounding 'burbs."

He presses a few buttons on the screen and the image he has been talking about appears on a large plasma screen for Catherine to see. She steps up to it and studies it for several minutes. "Impressive..." When she is done, she turns back to him, "... is all the data in?"

"Yeah. Did that first... then I isolated the images we needed and put them into the mapping program. This is all we've got so far." He comes to stand beside her as they both turn back to look at the big map on the screen. "What do you see?"

"I see... random chaos, Arch. Sorry, but am I missing something?" She looks over at him, confused as to what all the information on the screen means. Archie grins at her and is about to clarify the information when a voice behind them joins the conversation.

"Exactly! Its random!" Grissom had been dragging his exhausted body back to his office after driving around town all day. He had just been going over the information in his head; coming to the same conclusion but unable to put it into perspective until he glanced into the A/V lab and overheard them.

He comes to stand beside the other two and points up to the screen. "I see the ATM locations, but what are the arrows, Archie?"

"Direction of travel to and from the ATM sites. Nick and Greg picked up every piece of video footage from surrounding stores they could find."

Grissom studies the map again, his brow creased in concentration. He doesn't notice that Catherine and Archie are studying him with equal intensity. He looks tired, rumpled and about to collapse, and they both know what that means. When Grissom got obsessed with a case, he would work round the clock for days on end until he solved it. This wasn't just any case and there was no reason not to expect the same behavior from him now.

"Can you number the ATM sites by date and time of occurrence?"

Archie stepped over to his keyboard and tapped out the command and moments later, little red numbers appeared on the map beside each occurrence. "How's that?"

"Good. Now, can you do a progressive line, starting at one and tracing the path to each successive site?"

Again Archie's fingers flew over the keyboard and within a few minutes a thin red line began at the number one site and began moving to number two, then on to number three and so on. The three of them watched the line moving until it finally stopped at the last site. The map was criss-crossed with red now and Catherine gasped as she saw what both Grissom and Archie had already figured out.

"He's sling-shotting from one site to the next to throw us off!" She could clearly see the pattern now, west to east, north then south... the previously random pattern of ATM attempts had a pattern. And directly in the middle of that pattern was a huge overlay of red lines.

Archie again manipulated the map and overlaid a circle on top of the area where the lines intersected. It fell squarely in the area of Vegas that the cops sarcastically called 'Hell's Acres'. It was a bad part of town where the residents consisted of druggies, gangs and illegal immigrants who worked normal day jobs and then disappeared at night.

"Archie, print me off both maps! One with the red lines and the circle and the other one, blown up just showing me the map of the circled area." Grissom was already on his heels, spinning around to head for the door.

Catherine and Archie glance after him, recognizing the intensity of his stride. Catherine lets out a low sigh and pats Archie on the shoulder when she notices his posture. He was disappointed after all his hard work, that once again his boss, Grissom, has failed to acknowledge it.

"Good work, Archie." He smiles at her, accepting the consolation of her compliment. She holds his gaze for a moment with her hand on his shoulder before she shakes her head and gets back in the game. "Okay, get those maps to Grissom and get ready... you know all hell is about to break loose. Make sure you make lots of copies for the briefing."

She hurries out to follow after Grissom, going over all the reasons in her head that he needs to step back and let someone else lead this search of Hell's Acres. She knows he won't listen to any of them, but she can only hope that if she and Brass gang up on him they can make him understand why he needs to let them handle it. She quickly flips out her phone and hits the speed dial for Captain Brass; surprised that the call goes through. That meant Grissom hadn't called him yet.

* * *

An hour later, the night shift crew and swing shift crew were all assembled in the break room, with the exception of two who were finishing up on a homicide scene out in Henderson. Also present are numerous supervisors from the police department who are here to get the information and pass it along to their troops out on the streets.

Archie has worked his magic and come through with stacks of colored maps to be handed out to the attendees. He walks quietly between the people in the crowded room, handing out the maps until everyone has the same documents that Grissom is standing next to at the front of the room. Archie had made larger, poster sized maps for Grissom's presentation, anticipating his need for them without being told.

Catherine and Jim Brass come to stand next to him at the back of the room. She gently bumps his shoulder with her own and whispers, "Nice job."

Archie smiles at her and the discreet thumbs up he gets from Captain Brass. He hands him copies of the maps as well and then they turn their attention back to Grissom who is pacing in front of the maps. He is beginning to take on the characteristics of _The Nutty Professor_. His hair is even more unruly than usual, his glasses are perched dangerously on the edge of his nose and his clothing looks like... exactly what it is, three-day-old-slept-in-clothing.

"Okay, quiet down! We've got our first real lead in the abduction of Sara Sidle... thanks to the hard work of Nick, Greg and Archie." He waves a quick hand in his direction and several heads turn to see Archie blushing from the unexpected praise. "We've been able to isolate a pattern in Nash's movements..."

As Grissom goes on to continue the briefing, Archie clears his throat, clearly flustered by the credit Grissom gave him. Catherine again leans in and whispers, "Had a little chat with him... you know he appreciates all your hard work. He just forgets to tell you sometimes."

Archie raises a brow at her comment, indicating she doesn't have her facts exactly right. She grins and puts her arm around his waist, giving a little squeeze before releasing him, "Okay, he forgets most of the time... but I don't."

They turn back to listen to the assignments being handed out to the search teams. They are planning to go door to door and inspect every hotel room, flop house, shack, and cardboard cottage in the search zone. Brass throws out some cautionary advise about not abusing their powers and trampling over the civil rights of their down-trodden citizens. "If anyone balks at letting you search... stand fast and call it in. I'm expecting a lot of resistance out there and we'll deal with each situation as it comes up and draw paper on those places we need to, all right?"

A chorus of laughs and sarcastic comments are thrown out about how you can draw up a search warrant on a hunk of cardboard propped against a dumpster. Brass waves them off, knowing the area they are headed to isn't exactly documented with proper deeds and ownership papers. He's been through this before and so have his guys. They know the routine... they know who they can pressure for cooperation and who they can't.

As the group begins to file out, Grissom is gathering up his paperwork from the front; in a hurry to get out there and join the search. Now is the time for Catherine and Brass to ambush him and lay down their own law.

"Gil... you got a minute?" Brass steps in front of him as he is heading for the door. Grissom's frustration at being stopped is obvious.

"Jim, we gotta search to do... can't this wait?"

"Nope. The search is gonna start as scheduled. I got my guys on it and you know they'll turn over ever little scrap of trash until they find Sara."

"But you... are not going to be out there, Gil. You have to step back and let us run this search." Catherine endures his withering glare, knowing it was coming as soon as she opened her mouth. "Glare at me all you want, but you know I'm right."

"You're too close to his, pal. We know you need to help and no one is saying you can't, but not here. Not now..." Grissom starts to protest but Brass holds up his hand to stop him. "You're running on nothing but adrenalin right now and you need to stop."

"I can't... " he begins to move past them, but two sets of hands land on his chest, blocking his way. A heavy sigh escapes him as his frustration boils over. He knows they are trying to help, but right now all he wants to do is get out there and find Sara. "I need..."

"You need a shower... a change of clothes... and some food. Then we'll talk about sleep." He rolls his eyes when Catherine gives him her best pissed off mother glare which he knew meant trouble. "Do not give me that look, Gil... or I will pull out my inner Bitch."

Brass tries hard to hide his grin as Catherine and Grissom glare at each other. Grissom finally backs down and the tension leaves his body as he steps back from their hands and glares at Brass. "You too?"

"Yep, don't get to call on my inner Bitch much... so don't test me."

Grissom finally relaxes and hands the stack of maps over to his friend. Brass takes them and steps back to allow Grissom to leave the room with them following close behind. He grumbles under his breath about them being bitchy only because they haven't been laid lately, but they hear his comment and just chuckle as they head for the door.

Grissom consents to Catherine driving him home so he can shower and change. Then they are going to meet up with Brass at a restaurant near the search area so he can update them on the progress and get some much needed nourishment into their friend.


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

The food on the plate in front of him looked alien and not the least bit enticing. His fork made another pass over the different colored piles. Mashed potatoes with brown gravy gelling into lumps on it was the least appealing. A thick slab of meatloaf... or what this diner passed off as meatloaf peeked out from under more of the brown ooze. No one made meatloaf right. Grissom's fork hovers over the mixed vegetables as his mind wanders back to his mother's cooking. She knew how to cook, allowing the seasonings to create the meal so it wouldn't need to be buried under gravy or condiments. His thoughts turn again to Sara and their new relationship. Would she know how to make meatloaf? She was a vegetarian... or was it vegan? He always got those two mixed up.

"Gil. If you don't stab something on your plate and put it in your mouth... we're going to be here for a long time."

Grissom lifts his gaze to the two people seated at the table with him. Jim Brass is trying unsuccessfully to hide the smirk on his face and Catherine has pulled back the veil to reveal her inner bitch again. She was glaring at him with her 'Because I'm the mom' look, but he just didn't have the energy to point out that he was older than her so technically she could not play the 'mom' card on him. He sighs and obediently scoops up a forkful of peas and carrots and crams them in his mouth.

"Good boy." Catherine smiles, rewarding him for his good behavior by dropping her eyes to her own plate to continue eating.

"I was just pondering the fate of meatloaf, if you must know." He felt the need to defend himself and hopefully avoid having to take another bite of the tasteless food.

"You do this at every meal or just this one?" Brass didn't even try to hide his amused smirk this time.

"I'm merely pointing out that very few people know how to make a good meatloaf, that's all." He sees Catherine gesture with her fork towards his plate and reluctantly forks a piece of the meat into his mouth. He forces it down his throat and then sighs, "And... I was wondering... if Sara knew the secret to a good meatloaf."

"Considering she's vegetarian, I wouldn't count on it, buddy." Brass tries to keep the moment light so his friend won't slip back into his desperation of earlier.

"Actually Sara is a good cook, Jim. She only went vegetarian after Grissom had her spend an entire shift watching flies lay eggs in a pig carcass... kind of turned her off meat for a while."

Grissom's head came up sharply, shocked at this revelation. He had no idea it was something he had done that caused her drastic shift in food choices. "I did not assign her to watch that pig, Catherine. I was doing that myself and she chose to join me."

"I know... but it still had a lasting effect on her."

"More lasting that she had on you that night, huh, Gil?" Brass pokes fun at his friend's inability to see what had been right in front of him for so long.

Grissom gives them both a glare and shoves another chunk of meatloaf in his mouth to keep from uttering the nasty retort about Brass's own lack of romantic involvement. They return their attention to their own plates; leaving him alone now that he is actually eating the food in front of him.

* * *

Sara sat staring at her hands, numb and confused as to her current predicament. She should be thrilled to be out of that dingy motel room, but instead all she felt was overwhelming fear. She was afraid to move. She was afraid to look up; for fear of catching the eye of some passerby and drawing attention to herself. She was afraid to move... to try to free herself.

The rope binding her hands was coiled tightly around her wrists, then strung taut to her ankles, effectively hog tying her into a sitting position in the car seat. Johnny Nash was, if nothing else, effective at tying knots. After choking her until her world began to cloud at the edges of her vision, Nash had told her exactly what he would do if she misbehaved while they were out in public. Her hand twitched involuntarily, as if testing her bindings in protest to her mind's confusion. Why was she just sitting here?

His threats had not been of the vague, empty nature and Sara knew from experience what he would do to her if she misbehaved. Still, a small portion of her brain rebelled at her submissive behavior. Why was she letting him do this to her again?! She was an intelligent, independent woman who solved the most complex mysteries of life... and here she was sitting in Nash's truck alone, with the possibility of escaping his control only one gesture away... yet too afraid to move, too intimidated to look up and let someone see her like this.

Before leaving their motel room Nash had sneered at her and told her how ugly she was covered in bruises and blamed her for not looking her best for him. He told her it was her fault he'd now have to get her something to cover up her ugly face so she wouldn't embarrass him in public. They had driven to a local drug store and told her if she moved from this position, or in any way drew attention to herself, she would pay for it. He'd shown her the gun in his waistband, but she knew his revenge for her misbehavior would be much more personal. Then he'd gone inside to shop... as he preferred to call it, but in reality he was shoplifting.

Sara's logical mind debated her situation with her emotional mind, trying to convince herself this was her only opportunity to escape before Nash drove them back to the bay area and her certain imprisonment under his cruel control again. Still, for all her logical arguments, Sara could only give her wrist a gentle twist, testing the strength of her restraints. It hurt to move her hands and the rope dug into her flesh on the second turn and she instantly stopped. A gasp escaping her mouth as a shadow passed by her window.

Afraid to look up, Sara cringed in fear of having been caught in the act. She held her breath awaiting the certain beating, but her door did not open. Another moment and a car door closed next to her as the person got into their car and backed out, never realizing how close they came to being her savior. When Sara finally let the breath trickle from her lungs a tremor shook her body and she relaxed back into her seat, glad to still be in compliance with Nash's orders.

She was smart enough to recognize what was happening. She'd gone to enough counseling sessions with her therapist to recognize the symptoms of battered woman syndrome. She sat wondering how she had allowed herself to slip back into that mindset so easily. Or had she ever really left it? Was she destined to relive her past over and over again because she wasn't strong enough to escape it? She had thought she was... over the past years working here with people who liked and respected her, Sara had come to find value in herself. She believed in a world where she could be happy, but now in this moment... she was still helpless to break the cycle of fear and control her past had over her.

And that inability to act... the inability to save herself when the opportunity was so close at hand was more crushing to her spirit than any of the cruel blows Nash could inflict upon her. She thought about her friends, her co-workers... Grissom. She had so recently realized he could become so much more to her. How could she face any of them ever again if she had so little respect for herself now? They would never understand her inability to escape this situation. Would Grissom ever be able to love and respect her now? He had helped her escape once before. He had helped rebuild her self-esteem and put her on the path that led her to the life she truly cherished. Would he be willing to do it again? Did he love her that much?

Sara was just convincing herself that her new-found life with Grissom was worth the risk and she had to do whatever it took to get free. She twisted her wrists again, testing the rope as she pulled her hands apart. She dared to raise her head and glance around, but the first thing she saw when she did was Nash coming out of the store; walking with determination towards her. When their eyes met her heart froze at the glare he gave her... had he seen her attempt to free her hands?!

The driver's door was thrown open and Nash flopped down into his seat as his hand thrust the key into the ignition and the old truck roared to life. Before his door could even rebound and slam shut the truck was shooting backwards from the parking space as he jammed his foot down on the gas. Sara knew better than to talk and simply watched as the store manager came racing out, trying to block their escape by charging up to her side of the truck. Watching as Nash jerked the truck into drive and floored it again, Sara held the manager's gaze, letting him see her face in all its purple horror. She mouthed an apology to him as the manager dove to safety between two parked cars as they sped past.

Once out on the road, Nash zigzagged through traffic until he felt they were a safe distance away from the store and any possible pursuers. As he allowed the truck to slow to the speed of those vehicles around them, Sara chanced a quick glance over at him when he finally spoke to her.

"You see the risks I take for you? No one loves you like I do, Baby Doll."

She forces a smile to her sore face, but it quickly fades as Nash abruptly pulls into a dark alley behind a strip mall. Expecting to be hit for some unknown transgression, Sara tenses in anticipation, but the blow never comes. Instead, Nash arches his body up from the seat and shoves his hands down into his pants pockets to retrieve his stolen treasures. He casually tosses a variety of makeup items on the seat between them and smiles over at her, proud of his accomplishment.

"You see? Everything you need, just like I said, right?" His smile is truly happy as his mind sees this as his first good accomplishment in days.

Sara recognized his demeanor as his way of making up for having beat her to the point she needed the makeup to cover the bruising. She also knew not to comment on that for fear of triggering another angry outburst from him. Instead, she just smiled as best she could. Glancing at the items, seeing a mismatch of products that were not designed for the purpose he intended them.

"Thank you. It looks like everything I need." She glances up to him, then down to her hands that are still bound in her lap. "Did you want me to put it on now?"

Nash follows her gaze down to her hands and realizes she can't very well put it on if she's tied up. He exhales sharply, irritated at her for pointing out his oversight, and leans over to roughly yank her roped hands towards him so he can untie them. Sara endures the pain in silence and waits patiently until he has freed her hands and then sat back up in his seat.

"I can't very well take you anywhere looking like you do, now can I?" He flips on the interior cab light and gives a nervous glance around. "Hurry it up."

Without replying, Sara reaches over to pick up the one bottle he brought that is most likely to cover the dark bruising. She lowers the visor and finds the small mirror there is broken into two pieces. She manages to use the fractured image of herself in the mirror to apply the makeup quickly, knowing his patience for such things was not long. With the base applied thickly to cover the bruising, Sara caps the bottle and then uses the lip gloss and eye liner to make the best of her looks.

When she is finished, she turns to face Nash and await his approval. He gives her a long, level stare. As the seconds tick by Sara begins to anticipate retaliation for some slight imperfection he sees in her efforts. Finally his hand snakes out to curve around her chin, gripping her face hard as he turns it left and right in his inspection. Then with a shove, he pushes her back and turns his attention to driving with one last comment.

"You look like a New Orleans whore. Good thing it's dark out."

Sara bites off the instant retort that comes to mind... knowing he has never even been to New Orleans so he wouldn't know one if he saw one. That was the type of thinking that would get her killed if she wasn't careful. Instead she sits back quietly as Nash drives out of the alley and back onto the road.

* * *

After enduring the torturous meal with Catherine and Brass, Grissom finally sighs in relief when they bring him to the command post so they can monitor how the search is going. If anyone had asked him in that moment what he'd just had for dinner, he would not have been able to tell them. His entire focus was on the map pinned to the wall and the sections of the grid marked by the search teams.

Grissom stared at the map, hoping that if he looked hard enough the map would show him Sara's location. In the meantime, Brass was getting a briefing from Lieutenant Justin Davis. Davis was a former marine commander in Iraq and that was why Brass put him in charge of the search teams. This wasn't his first time conducting a search in hostile territory for a missing team member. The only difference here was they couldn't bust down every door they came to in their attempts to find where they were holding the prisoner hostage.

"What have we got so far, Justin?"

"Sorry to report, but not much..." He sees Grissom's head snap around at his words and quickly adds, "...yet, Sir. The teams are barely into the second phase of the search area so we have a long way to go." Grissom turns his attention to the briefing now and listens to Lieutenant Davis' run down on the progress in detail.

Catherine keeps her distance, knowing Grissom hated nothing more than when she hovered around him like a protective hen. She didn't need to hear the details of the search plan to know it was like searching for a needle in a haystack. All they had to go on was the 'slingshot theory' that Archie came up with and that was pretty thin when you thought about it. The chances of Nash and Sara still being in this search grid were slim to none at this point. It had been four days since she went missing and with every minute she could be getting farther and farther away from this area... away from them. She decides to step outside and talk to a couple of the search organizers manning the radios and see what they were picking up.

At the command post Catherine stops beside the man who seems to engrossed in managing the myriad of radio chatter going on over the multi-band police radio. She waits for a lull in the communications and then lays a gentle hand on the small of his back, drawing his attention to her.

"Hi."

"Hey, Cath. When did you get here?" Sergeant Stan Vartan gives her the smile he normally reserves for their private moments.

"Few minutes ago. Had to take Grissom home for some enforced personal care." She grins as her lover lifts a suspicious brow at her description. "Relax Stan. You know how he gets... won't eat, won't sleep, won't shower when he's focused on a case."

"Yeah. And I'm sure he's never been more focused than he is on this one. So how's he holding up?"

"Okay... but I'm worried about what he'll do when we do find Sara. We know Nash can be brutal and Grissom saw it first hand when he met Sara in 'Frisco five years ago."

"You think he'll go after Nash?" Vartan has now turned to give her his full attention, interested in the details of Grissom he never knew existed.

"Oh, I know he will. The question is can we hold him back and keep him from killing him on the spot? Gil's got a gentle demeanor, but there's a beast inside that man... just like there is in all of us."

"I'll try to stick close to him when we get a lead on this one, okay?" He is just reaching out to take her hand when the radio squawks again. This time it is the dispatcher monitoring the area requesting to speak to the incident command post.

"Dispatch to Incident Command."

"Command, go ahead." Vartan and Catherine listen; hoping this is the break they've been waiting for.

"Command. Just got a call in of a shoplifting at the CVS Drug store over at 5970 West Tropicana." Two sets of shoulders sag as they realize this is just another routine call, but then the dispatcher's next words add another glimmer of hope. "Looks like this may be related to your search. You want to send a unit over there?"

"What are the details?"

"Guy shop-lifted a bunch of makeup and hit the door running with the store manager in pursuit. Guy fled in a small white pickup truck with a camper shell on the back."

"Did he get a plate?"

"No, guy almost ran him over, but he got a good look at the female passenger in the front. Said she was all bruised up on her face and appeared to have her hands tied with a rope or cord."

"Ten-four. We'll get a unit over there." Vartan gives Catherine a quick look and sees her smile. This was the first break they've had. He grabs his second radio and quickly dispatches the closest search team to the CVS drug store to get more details and a direction of travel. That CVS was located close to the center of their search area so it looked like Archie's theory was panning out.

* * *

Within minutes of Nick's arrival at the CVS drug store, he and Officer Burdette were convinced the suspect in this shoplifting was in fact Nash. They didn't tell the irate manager that his theft of $30.00 in makeup was the least of their concerns at the moment. They got all the details they could from the angry store manager and thanked him for his call. Back in their car, Nick relayed the information back to the command post.

"CSI Stokes to Command." When Vartan cleared him back, he wasted no time in relaying the information and confirmation on the descriptions given by the manager. It was definitely Nash and the woman in the truck was Sara. He didn't add the part given to him by the manager about how she mouthed an apology before the truck sped past him. That wasn't news they needed getting overheard on the airways right now.

"The truck was last seen heading east on Tropicana in a big hurry. Guy said he was slashing through traffic like he was in a pursuit."

"Copy that, Nick. Sounds like we're gonna have containment issues when we catch up to this guy." Vartan turned to make a comment to Catherine, but she was gone, having run inside to update Brass and Grissom on this latest turn of events. "We'll have units saturate the area. You guys keep looking for that truck."

"Ten-four... but I'll give Archie a call and have him start pulling the traffic cam's from Tropicana. They've got a ten minute head start on us."


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

Sara stands beside the small truck, flexing her legs and feet, glad to be standing after such a long time of sitting bound in the car. Nash stands in front of her, giving her that glare she has feared for so long... the 'if you do one thing to piss me off' look. Then he holds up a finger, silently ordering her to stay where she is before he walks off towards the ATM machine at a branch of her bank.

Sara had been able to convince him to stop at this branch by claiming she had security on her account that would not let her card be used at non-bank locations. Nash had never been very smart about technology so he did not question how Sara had been able to control her debit card usage in such a way. Sara's bluff had worked and she was now standing in front of a branch's outer ATM bay that was well lit with a functional camera that had not been vandalized in some way.

She quickly looks around, rising up onto her toes to stretch her legs as she gives a fleeting thought to making a run for it right now. They were off the strip in a residential area and at just after midnight, the foot traffic was minimal. The vehicle traffic on the road was sporadic at best and she knew he'd be on her before she was able to flag down anyone to help. Instead, she opts for her original plan... the plan that brought her to this ATM where she had a chance of at least getting a last message out to her team. The best CSI's in the state were looking for her and would eventually examine her bank account activity... if they haven't already.

Nash returns, looking around suspiciously before grabbing her by the arm and pulling her with him towards the machine. His frustrations over the past days was about to end when Sara withdrew the money they needed for their trip home. He'd tried numerous times with no success to access her account so when she told him of the security measures she put on her card, he had readily believed her.

He places her in front of the machine, standing behind her, but close enough to watch the transactions. Sara's other lie to Nash had been when she explained she could only withdraw two hundred dollars at a time. She would have to stand here and make several transactions in order to get the money he was demanding and that would give her the time she needed to implement her plan. Luckily for her, Nash had always been a nervous talker and as they had driven around the city tonight, he'd let his exit plan from this city slip out. Sara knew her only chance was to get that information out to Grissom and just hope he saw it soon enough to intercept them.

"Do it!" Nash thrust the debit card at her and Sara took it, moving as slowly as she could while making it appear that the machine was slowing her down. With Nash standing behind her, looking over her shoulder, he could see the screen in front of her, but he couldn't see her hands positioned next to her body. Sara took a deep breath and prayed she remembered all the classes she took in sign language last year.

She'd taken the classes after learning of Grissom's hereditary hearing loss and the surgery that only bought him time before the inevitable deafness overtook him. She had been worried that he would further push those he worked with away if he could not communicate with them and she didn't want to be one of them. Now she takes a shaky breath and begins to slowly mold her fingers into the letters and symbols she recalled from her classes.

Her efforts were interrupted several times as she proceeded to make the cash withdrawals. Nash quickly leaning around her to grab the cash as it came out of the machine, then step back to let her conduct the next one. Sara kept up her efforts, signing the same message over and over again until she was sure she had gotten it right. Then, when she knew she had accessed her account for the maximum this machine would allow her to withdraw, she signed once more, this time with a personal message for Grissom.

When the cash came out again, Nash grabbed it and stepped back, but Sara didn't move to start another one. He quickly shoved her shoulder, "Quit stalling! Do it again."

"I can't. The bank only allows me to do six transactions in a twenty-four hour period."

Nash quickly counts the twelve hundred dollars in his possession and grumbles , "This this is barely enough to get us to the state line."

Recognizing the stress in his voice which was usually a warning of violence to come, Sara quickly placates him. "I can get more... tomorrow, Johnny. I promise."

His response is to roughly grab her by the arm and spin her around to face him. He glares at her for a moment, all the while squeezing her arm tightly in his grip until he saw her flinch. "You better be right." Jerking her again, Nash leads her back to his truck; unaware that the silent eye of the camera was recording their every move.

* * *

Back in the lab, Archie continues to monitor Sara's bank activity since it seemed to be the only link to their location. He'd sent an emergency subpoena to Sara's bank, getting authorization to monitor her accounts and to be alerted to any activity on them.

Not wanting to miss anything, Archie decided not to go home at the end of his shift. Instead, he pulled a cot out of storage and set it up in a corner of his lab to get some rest. He was just drifting off to sleep when a loud series of beeps alerted him to new activity. Archie shakes the cobwebs from his brain and hurries over to the computer monitor to check on it.

The activity was far outside their search area, which was strange, but still within the 'slingshot' theory of operation for Nash. He grabs his notepad and begins to make notations of the time and place when another alert tone startles him. The card was used a second time and he quickly jots down that information as well. It was done at the same location and before Archie can pick up the phone to call Catherine, a third series of impatient beeps fills his lab.

Greg had been walking by, just arriving back to the lab with the evidence he was tasked with processing from the motel room they located during the search. Nash and Sara had checked out of the run down little motel, but they knew there would still be valuable evidence left behind. The sound of loud beeps comes from the lab floated out into the hallway, but it is the expletive from the normally reserved A/V tech that catches his attention.

"Holy Shit!"

Greg pops his head into the A/V lab to see Archie frantically trying to write with one hand while dialing his office phone with the other. "What's up, Archman?"

"I'm getting hits on Sara's debit card! They're coming in one after another... it's crazy, Greg. I'm trying to call Catherine to let her know, but the alarms are coming in every few minutes. I don't know if it's a system glitch or what?"

Greg steps up to the work bench and glances down at the five notations Archie has made on his notepad. He sees the same location on all of them and realizes what is happening. He knocks Archie's hand away from the phone and quickly dials Catherine's cell number.

"Yea, Cath... yes, I'm at the lab. Archie's getting hit after hit on Sara's debit card. All the same location at 97404 W. Sundance Boulevard. It's a branch of Sara's bank." He listens as Catherine quickly relays the address and information to the command post lieutenant. When she returns her voice is quick and intense due to her excitement.

"Pull that video, Greg! See what's going on at that ATM!"

"On it. Looks like she's buying us some time by making multiple small withdrawals of two hundred dollars each."

"Then we have to act fast because the bank's computer will freeze her out if she does too many attempts within a twenty-four hour period. How many do we have so far?"

"Five..." Just then another alert tone sounds in the lab and Greg looks to Archie for confirmation. "Make that six, Catherine. Another one is coming in right now."

"Okay, Greg, work with Archie and pull everything you can. We've got units on the way over there, but its way outside our search grid. The closest unit is probably fifteen minutes away at the least."

He hears Catherine talking to someone on her end of the line and then it goes dead as she disconnects the phone in her distraction. Greg turns to his friend and raises a questioning brow, "So wanna take a guess on how far away from that ATM they'll be before the closest unit can get there?"

* * *

Grissom was standing next to Catherine when the call came in and he knew by her urgency it was something big. The address she called out to Lieutenant Justin Davis did not ring any bells with him other than a realization that it was far away from where they were circulating after the shoplifting report came in two hours ago. Desperation fills him as Nash has once again managed to keep himself and Sara far out of his reach. And not only his reach, but the combined efforts of the Las Vegas Crime Lab, Metro Police and the Las Vegas Sheriff's Department who was assisting with the search.

How could a man who, by Sara's limited description, had never even completed high school be so clever at staying under the radar? Was he more devious than they were giving him credit for? Or was he simply a witless thug as Sara portrayed him that had the luck of those itinerant street people to operate underneath the veil of decent society?

When Catherine snaps her phone shut, she is already relaying what Greg told her to Davis and Brass. Grissom knows he is supposed to be hands off on this case, but he moves in close to listen to the information anyway.

"Okay, people, listen up! New information. Sara's debit card is being used multiple times at a branch of her bank out on west Sundance. Looks like he's slingshotting again. We have the video being pulled now and from the pattern it looks like Sara is trying to buy us some time by doing small withdrawals over and over again."

"Why would she do that? And do we know its Sara doing the transactions?" Davis may have been the tactical leader, but financial investigations were something new to him.

"No, we don't, but up until now, all attempts to use her card by Nash were unsuccessful. We have to assume that because these transactions are going through; Sara is the one doing them. Also, Nash has never tried more than one or two attempts before he takes off. There have been six withdrawals at the same ATM, one right after another."

"She's either trying to buy us time by staying there longer, knowing we would monitor her accounts... or she's trying to trigger her account to be frozen so the bank will alert to the suspicious activity."

Everyone has turned to listen to Grissom's explanation, but it is Catherine who once again takes control and finishes his thought. "Either way, we need to get there as soon as we can because when that ATM stops spitting out money, Nash will disappear again with Sara."

She puts a hand on the arm of her friend, feeling him tremble as the frustration of the moment overwhelms him. She guides him away from the group of officers who are now on a mission to coordinate a dragnet around the latest sighting of their quarry.

"You okay, Gil?"

"I... I don't know, Catherine. I've never felt so lost... so out of control."

"Well, then we need to get you back into your comfort zone. There isn't much we can do out here now and they'll notify us if they find anything. Lets head back to the lab and take a look at the video Archie is pulling on this."

Grissom gives her a partial smile, grateful for her understanding of his emotional state. He definitely was not helping anyone by hanging around out here. He needed to be in his comfort zone and right now that meant being at the lab... overseeing and monitoring every aspect of this case. She gives Brass a quick wave and heads up they are heading to the lab and his responding smirk tells them he couldn't agree more.

* * *

Archie and Greg have downloaded all of the ATM surveillance footage as well as the other two exterior cameras for that branch office. It had taken a phone call to a very sleepy and irate bank manager, but after hearing the circumstances he had given them the remote access code to download the footage.

By the time Grissom and Catherine walk into the A/V lab, Greg and Archie are watching the third of six segments of video. This portion shows Sara standing in front of the ATM, appearing nervous and fidgeting with her hands. They can see Nash hovering over her shoulder and as soon as the cash is dispensed, he pushes forward to grab the money as if afraid Sara will keep it from him.

"Man... he's pretty intense."

"Yeah, look at how he grabs the cash, like it's going to disappear if he doesn't get his greedy little hands on it right away."

"Not intense, Archie... desperate. The only thing keeping him in the Las Vegas area is a lack of funds needed to get out of here." Grissom's voice makes both techs turn around sharply.

"Which would mean... our chances of locating them just got a lot slimmer, huh?" Greg's comment drew angry glares from his co-workers. No one wanted to admit that the sand had almost run out of the hourglass window they were operating in.

"Archie, que them up again for us. We want to see them all from the start."

"Okay, but they're all the same so far. Sara is doing the transactions while Nash hovers behind her to grab the cash."

"Sara seems... off. I can't explain it, but she just looks different and she acts very un-Sara." Greg tries to redeem himself by contributing his observations to the discussion.

"Greg, it's been a long day. What exactly does 'un-Sara' mean?" Grissom had no patience for the usually entertaining musings of his newest field agent.

"Uhm, well... she just doesn't act like she normally does... you know, confident, carefree?"

"She's been kidnapped, beaten and who knows what else! And you think she should be acting confident and carefree?!" Grissom's anger at this comment is upstaged by Catherine's angry outburst at the young CSI's stupidity.

"NO! I mean... well, watch the video... you'll see. She's fidgeting, nervous... it just isn't like her."

This time, Archie jumps in to agree with Greg by nodding his head and then pointing to the screen as the first clip begins to play. Archie and Greg stay back at the work bench while Catherine and Grissom step forward to get a better look at the large plasma screen. They watch the first three clips and Catherine is about to agree with the two lab techs about Sara's behavior. She was definitely not acting like Sara.

"Wet? ... blue?" Grissom is squinting at the screen, even though the image is nearly four feet wide on the huge plasma screen. "Archie... stop the tape, run it back to..." Archie does as instructed, "There! Stop... play it forward at half speed."

Grissom again squints at the screen, but this time, his hands are in front of his body mimicking the movements Sara is making on the screen. The others watch him, not sure what to make of his strange behavior.

"Wet, maybe... then I think she's saying blue... but I can't understand the rest."

"You mean her hands? Gil, is she using sign language?!" Catherine is shocked to notice that now with new eyes, she too can make out the slow and deliberate movements of her hands. Sara was not nervous or fidgeting... she was trying to give them a message!

"Yes, but I can't make out all of it. Archie, start again, from the first clip and play them all at half speed for me." He steps closer to the huge screen and ignores the whispered comments from the two young techs who are discussing their lack of knowledge that Sara even knew sign language.

After several minutes, Grissom turns around and sighs heavily as he admits he can only detect a portion of her cryptic message. "I... I just can't make it out. Either she's not fluent enough in ASL to be making sense or she's afraid to draw Nash's attention and is being too careful not to let him see her hands moving."

"It's probably a little of both. None of us even thought Sara knew American sign language." Catherine is as shocked as the other two techs, but doesn't voice her opinion as to why Sara would have gone to the trouble to learn it.

"Actually, Catherine, there are three main types of sign language. ASL is only one of them, but for the layman it's the most common. And before you say it, yes... I am aware she probably learned it for me."

Archie and Greg exchange a grin, having just realized yesterday that there was much more to Grissom and Sara than a working relationship. Catherine gives the two a stern glare before focusing Grissom's mind back to the task at hand.

"So, what is she trying to tell us?"

"I don't know, Cath. All I can make out is 'wet' and 'blue' and some numbers, 'one, six and zero'."

This time when Greg opens his mouth, he actually has something worthwhile to contribute. "Hey! What about a direction? West... not wet. And a street? West Blue Diamond Road! It turns into highway one sixty when it leaves town heading out to Pahrump. Could that be what she's trying to say?"

"Archie run it again, from the fourth clip, please." Grissom turns to watch it again with new insight into the vague movements of her fingers this time. He nods and points to the screen. "Yes! I believe she is trying to sign diamond, there!"

"AMEN!" Catherine fist pumps the air for a moment at this breakthrough then flips her cell phone open with a flick of her wrist. Dialing quickly, she relays the information to their search command post. "Brass, we got something! Sara left a cryptic message on the ATM camera... in sign language. They're heading out of town on West Blue Diamond Road towards Pahrump."

"You're sure? Blue Diamond road? Okay, we're on it. I'll mobilize the Pahrump LEO's to shut down all exits out of town until we can get there." Brass snaps his phone shut and then grins down at it as Catherine's words sink in, "Sara knows sign language... whatta ya know."

Back in the lab, Catherine has hurried out to make the arrangements for the operation in Pahrump to ensure there are no holes left open for this slimy character to slither through. Grissom remains in the lab, just staring at the image of Sara on the screen as she continues to give them the discreet clues. When the last clip begins to play, Grissom gasps at the different message he sees repeated now. Archie and Greg look up suddenly, wondering what caused Grissom's response and they don't need to know sign language to recognize the universal gesture for 'I love you'. They silently step out of the room, giving Grissom some time alone with the closest thing he has to the woman he loves.


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

In the history of the small town of Pahrump, no one could recall when the police, fire and local sheriff's departments all banded together with such speed or efficiency. It may have been due to the alert of a kidnapped Las Vegas CSI was heading their way. Or it may have been the urgency of their proximity to the California border... but those responding to the small town knew the truth. It was the awesome power unleashed by Catherine Willows, a petite redhead who's easy going style could win her friends one minute and then unleash the most fearsome, withering force to be reckoned with when provoked to pull out Mama Cath.

By the time Brass and the command staff of the search arrive in Pahrump the town is locked down tighter than a specimen bottle containing some unknown contagion. The residents had received repeated orders over the loud-speaker in the patrol cars to remain in their homes as a dangerous felon was on the loose in the area. The town, quite literally looked like many of the ghost towns around the Nevada nuclear testing sites.

They established their command post at the intersection of highway one-sixty and the Bob Brown Parkway (highway three-seventy-two). The parking lot of the local grocery store there provided ample parking for the flood of law enforcement vehicles coming into the area as well as providing them quick access to the three main avenues in and out of the town. With a population of only thirty thousand residents, the search was expected to go quickly.

Catherine and Grissom were slower to arrive since she wanted to ensure they had everything they needed to process the crime scene when they caught up to Nash. No one had any misconceptions there would be a scene to process... the only unknown was whether Nash would be alive or dead when they processed it.

Grissom tried to contain his impatience with her attention to detail, but kept his mouth shut and helped her stock two extra kits before they pulled Greg off his current assignment and told him he was coming with them to Pahrump. Grissom was still hands off on this one so Catherine would need Greg to help process... and keep control of Grissom if it came to that.

With the equipment loaded and everyone in the vehicle, Grissom finally vents his frustration at her lack of haste. "Catherine, can we PLEASE get going now!? It's an hour's drive to Pahrump and Brass's guys are already there."

"Don't get your... " She glances over to see the glare he is giving her and decides to rephrase her response. "Relax, Gil. We're going, we're going. And don't you worry... the way I drive, we'll be there in under an hour."

She puts the Tahoe in drive and gives it a little more gas than was practical in the crowded parking lot. Grissom tries to suppress the heavy sigh of relief and frustration, but they both hear it. Catherine catches Greg's eye in the rearview mirror and her wink brings a grin to his face.

* * *

As they are pulling into the town, only forty-five minutes after leaving their office, Catherine slows to turn into the parking lot at the command post. She has to stop short as several marked police cars come flying out with their lights flashing and tires squealing as they file out onto the main road heading west. Catherine is torn between following them and checking in at the command post first. Grissom's choice is obvious as his finger points emphatically after the receding police cars.

"GO! GO! GO!" Catherine jerks the wheel hard and tromps down on the gas to catch up to them.

"Call Brass and find out what the hell we're chasing!" Catherine's eyes remain glued to the road as she swerves around a corner and heads north off of highway one-sixty following the pack.

Grissom is already dialing and moments later has Brass on the line, "Jim, we just fell in behind the squad cars... what's up?"

"Nash's truck was spotted and we've got one unit in pursuit. Since all the main roads are barricaded, he took the only available escape route... a narrow county route... ah, number fifty-two, that leads up into mountains north of town."

"Why the hell wasn't there containment on that road?!" Grissom's anger is raging at this point as he feels Sara slipping through his fingers again.

"Relax. The road doesn't go anywhere. About a mile outside of town it turns to a dirt track and ends another two miles up in the mountains at a parking lot for McFarland Peak Park."

"You better hope you're right about that!" Grissom snaps his phone shut and something close to a growl explodes from his throat. He glares at Catherine and updates her, "This road will turn to dirt about a mile outside of town. It dead ends another two miles up into the mountains at a recreational area."

"So we've got him, right? Nash doesn't have anywhere to go." Greg's optimism is met by two very deep frowns as he fails to comprehend the situation.

"What we have Greg, is a desperate, unstable suspect armed with a gun who's about to be trapped like a rat on a sinking ship." Grissom voices the fear that had flashed into both his and Catherine's minds. Catherine refrains from the conversation so she can concentrate on navigating the road that has turned to dirt with a thick veil of dust being kicked up by the vehicles ahead of them.

Outside their own jurisdiction, the radio in their vehicle can't pick up the local law enforcement's radio traffic. The silence is killing them as Grissom flips from one channel to the other trying to find some communication about the ongoing pursuit. Sitting in the back seat and afraid to open his mouth again for fear of incurring the wrath of Grissom, Greg finally clears his throat and makes a meek suggestion.

"Uhm... Grissom?" He receives no response. "I can call our dispatcher and have her patch us through to the local dispatcher. Then we can listen on speaker phone... if you want?" Grissom spins around in his seat to give Greg a look that would most likely melt solid steel. Greg quickly dials their Las Vegas Dispatch Center. "Yeah, hi. This is CSI Sanders. I need you to patch me through to the Pahrump dispatch center. Yes, this is in regards to the kidnapping... and I need it like ten minutes ago."

A few moments later, Greg puts his phone on speaker mode and holds it out between the two people in the front seat. They can finally hear the local radio chatter about the pursuit, but what they hear is not good.

"Dispatch... this is Charlie-six, roll fire! I repeat, roll fire to the McFarland Peak parking lot... he rolled the truck. I repeat, the suspect rolled his truck." The radio then explodes with numerous officers all trying to talk at once. Claiming they have arrived on the scene, asking for rescue services and one who advises the truck is perched upside down on a precarious ledge, just above the lookout point.

Having never been to this park, no one in the Tahoe knows how high up lookout point is or how wide this ledge is over the ravine. They are all picturing the worst in their minds as Catherine comes to a screeching halt in the dirt parking lot. They get only a momentary glimpse of the overturned truck's position before the wave of dust from their tires engulfs their vehicle and blocks their view.

Grissom is out of the truck, gagging on the dust cloud as he races blindly through it until he reaches clean air once again. His worst fears are realized when he sees the officers scrambling down the embankment to attempt to attach a tow cable from the front of a squad car to the overturned truck. The truck is resting on what remains of its roof and camper shell, half on the ledge and half dangling above a drop off of no less than fifty feet to the ravine below.

Grissom stops dead in his tracks stunned by the carnage before him. The truck apparently rolled more than one time since the fenders were shredded from the body and there was debris spread out over a large area. He searches frantically for any sign of Sara, but sees only the responding cops. He is just about to rush down the embankment when two restraining hands clamp onto his arms. Catherine and Greg flank him in the restraining hold and he snarls at them, "Let me go...!"

Then they hear one of the rescuers call out, "Hey! Over here! I've got her... over HERE!"

The source of the voice is not readily seen by the other rescuers and they all glance around frantically until they see a yellow traffic vest being waved back and forth like a flag. The officer was about thirty feet away from the gnarled truck, below the ridgeline and out of view from the parking lot.

Grissom yanks his arms free and races towards the man, skidding and sliding down the slope where he is standing next to the person sitting on the ground and leaning against a large boulder. Grissom doesn't even recognize the person as Sara due to the dirt, desert plants and grime covering her entire body. What scares him the most is the darkening spots on her head and arm where the blood is slowly seeping through the thick layer of dirt.

He skids to a stop beside her and his first instinct is to grab her and hug her tightly, but he barely restrains himself as the officer's warning reaches his ears. "Careful! She was ejected from the truck and got flung thirty feet through rough desert. She's in shock and not responding. I'm not sure how badly she's hurt."

Grissom drops to his knees beside her, his hands shaking badly as he now gently reaches out to press his fingertips to the pulse point on her wrist. Her pulse was rapid, but strong and Grissom lets out the breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding.

"Sara... honey... are you okay?" Grissom notices immediately that she doesn't respond at all. Not even a blink of her eyes. She just stares straight ahead with her lower lip trembling. He tries again, "Sara, its Grissom... talk to me, honey. Sara? SARA!?"

Again he gets no response and this time his hand comes up to gently cup her cheek, trying to turn her face towards his, but when he applies gentle pressure, a small mewling whimper escapes her throat, causing him to pull his hand away for fear of hurting her.

Catherine and Greg are close behind, having followed him down the slope to see how Sara was. They are dismayed by her dazed state and immediately worry that she may have a serious head injury. Catherine feels as helpless as Grissom looks as he continues to kneel beside her, gently holding her hand. Her training kicks in and she turns to Greg while barking out instructions.

"Greg. Get the first aid kit. HURRY! If the paramedics arrive you guide them down here, you got that? Sara is their first priority!"

Greg spins around and races back to their Tahoe to retrieve the first aid kit and locate the paramedics that should be here any moment. By the time he reaches the Tahoe he sees two fire engines and an ambulance have arrived. He decides to skip the first aid kit and rushes up to them, arms waving to get their attention.

"HEY! HEY! We've got a badly injured CSI over here! Come on!" As the paramedics grab their kits, he gives them a brief description of Sara's probable injuries. "She was ejected from the truck when it rolled. Found her about thirty feet from the vehicle leaning against a rock. Looks like she tumbled pretty hard through the desert brush and she 's not responding."

"Is she unconscious?"

"No, she's awake, she's just not responding... to anything."

They jog back down the slope, being careful not to trip and tumble down on top of their patient at the bottom. Once they arrive, the officer steps back, but Grissom refuses to leave her side. They repeatedly try to move him away, but he ignores them and continues to stare at Sara's blank expression.

"Sir! You need to step back! SIR! STEP BACK!"

Grissom finally has to release his hold on her hand when Catherine, Greg and the officer who found her all grab onto him and haul him back out of the way. He is stunned at her condition and can only think the worst since she isn't responding.

"Cath... she's not moving... she's not responding. What if she's paralyzed? What if she's got severe head trauma?"

"We don't know anything yet, Gil... let the EMT's do their job and get her stabilized for transport."

"NO! Not by ambulance... not to this small town hospital, Catherine. I want her air-lifted to Las Vegas."

"Okay, Okay. I'm on it." She loosens her grip on Grissom's arm to grab her cell phone and dial the number back in Vegas. "This is CSI Willows. I need a med-alert chopper to respond to Pahrump immediately. We've got a severely injured CSI... yes, STAT!"

One paramedic turn from their efforts to stabilize her head, neck and back when he hears Catherine's demands on the phone. "You got a chopper coming? All right, ETA from Vegas should be twenty minutes, so let's get her prepped and up on solid ground before they get here."

The officer who had been standing by suddenly releases Grissom as he realizes there is work to be done. "I'll clear the lot so the chopper will have room to land... there's no other flat surfaces up here."

"Greg, go move the Tahoe." Catherine hands him the keys and he races up the hill after the officer.

Grissom and Catherine watch the paramedics slowly lower Sara onto a backboard, while being careful to stabilize her neck in the huge neck and head brace. Once they have her lying flat on the backboard, they quickly strap her head brace down so she can't move and then do the same with her chest, arms and legs. When she is stabilized, they take up positions around the backboard and lift her gently to hip level.

As they approach the hill covered with loose rock and debris, the lead paramedic looks over to Grissom and Catherine. "Can one of you Get up the hill ahead of us and take this rope? We need you to keep a steady tension on it so if we slip, she won't come crashing back down this slope."

Grissom and Catherine both scramble up the hill ahead of them, rope clenched tightly in their hands. They hold the rope, keeping it taut as they slowly climb up the hill, while trying to keep Sara level without bouncing her around too much. One fireman trips, but quickly regains his footing and they finally make it up to the level ground of the parking lot with their precious cargo.

Within minutes the majority of the parking lot is cleared for a landing zone and Sara has been gently place on a picnic table under a gazebo roof where they can monitor her vital signs and get an I.V started to stabilize her as much as they can.

With nothing to do now, Catherine leaves Grissom standing watch over Sara and goes to check on the rest of the crime scene. She hadn't given a single thought to Nash until now and looks around quickly to see if any of the patrol cars have a person seated in the back seat. They all appear to be empty so she makes her way to the smashed truck, which has been secured by tow cables to two patrol vehicles parked at the edge of the parking lot.

"How's it look down there?" She asks the first officers she approaches.

"It's bad. The driver is in the cab... he's dead. Never had a chance with the way the roof caved in like that."

Catherine nods in agreement after getting her first look at the truck up close. She says a silent prayer for Sara and doesn't even want to think what Grissom would have done if she'd been found inside the cab with Nash.

"Let me know when we can start processing the scene. We're taking this one since it was our CSI he kidnapped."

"Your scene, yes, Ma'am. I understand. The medical examiner is on the way, but he won't be here for about an hour or so, if you want to do your overall photos before he gets here?"

Catherine gives him a smile and turns back to find Greg and get this thing started. She finds him sitting on the rear bumper of the Tahoe, the rear door open and two kits sitting beside him ready to go. She reaches for one kit, but then notices the tear sliding slowly down her young co-worker's cheek and stops.

"Greg? You okay?"

"Is she gonna be all right, Catherine? I mean... God, we can't lose her now... not after all we've gone through to find her. If we lose her... what's Grissom going to do?"

"I know, Greg... and I don't have any answers for you. I'm sure Grissom will fly back with her in the chopper... or heaven help the man who tries to tell him otherwise. Come on, let's focus on the job at hand so we can get back to Vegas as soon as possible, too."

With a deep breath, Greg wipes the wet stain from his cheek and stands up with his kit in hand. Catherine gives him an encouraging smile and pats his shoulder as they head back to the truck to begin processing the scene.

Time seems to be standing still as Gil watches the paramedics hovering over Sara, gently trying to clean off some of the dirt to see how badly she is injured. She has a nasty gash to her head and they have splinted her right forearm because when they removed the dirt they found the source of the bleeding was a piece of bone sticking out of her arm.

Grissom keeps back just far enough to stay out of the way of the paramedics, but close enough to still have a connection with her. He can't seem to tear his eyes away from her face... more accurately, from her eyes. They were dead, lifeless and what scares him the most is her lack of pain response to their ministrations. She has barely blinked her eyes and hasn't seemed to focus on anything except some inner horror in her mind's eye.

They all hear the rhythmic thump of the rotors as the Air Ambulance nears their location and is guided in to land by the patrol officers on scene. Grissom steps up to help shield Sara's body from the dust kicked out from the powerful down thrust of the rotors until it has safely landed and powered down. Once the dust clears, the order is given to lift Sara and transport her over to the chopper. Grissom wants to help and quickly grabs the I.V bag from the paramedic who was trying to hold it in his teeth while both of his hands were busy holding Sara steady.

They have all figured out from the silent vigil held by Grissom that Sara was someone special to him and they stopped trying to shoo him away. His stubborn glares told them he wasn't about to let this woman out of his sight again. When she was being loaded onto the chopper, Grissom stepped up and was met by a flight medic waving his hand in his face.

"No passengers! No Passengers!"

Before Grissom could even open his mouth to argue with the young medic, the lead paramedic stepped up and raised his voice above the whine of the rotors. "He's OKAY! HE GOES with HER!"

The medic frowns, but then looks around at the group of EMT's who are all nodding their consent. The medic turns his attention back to Grissom and gives him a nod, motioning him into a jump seat on the opposite side of the cramped cabin. Grissom doesn't hesitate and leaps into the seat designated for him without a backwards glance at Catherine or Greg. He knows she will expect him to go with Sara and they will have no problem handling this scene without him.

Once inside and seated, Grissom finally remembers to put on his seatbelt and in doing so he pulls back his shirt and exposes his CSI badge. The medic sees it and gives him a smile as he slides the door closed and pounds on the cabin wall that separates them from the pilots. The rotors begin to wind up, gaining thrust until the big chopper lifts off the ground. It rises straight up for fifty feet before accelerating away towards Las Vegas.


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

By the time Catherine and Greg have finished up at the crime scene, loaded up the evidence and followed the tow truck back to the Las Vegas Police impound yard with Nash's battered pickup on board, it was nearly midnight. They watched as the driver unceremoniously dumped it in a vacant corner of the yard and then signed the release form for the driver and dismissed him. He smiled all the way back to his truck knowing the tow fee for the Las Vegas Crime Lab, all the way from Pahrump would net him more money than a whole week's worth of local tows.

Catherine and Greg secure the impound lot gate and head back to the lab to secure their evidence in one of the examination rooms for the night. They have officially been on the clock for over thirty-six hours and at this point were nothing more than walking zombies. Greg had dozed a bit on the ride back in, but when Catherine had caught herself nodding off behind the wheel she'd given him a sharp swat across his arm and ordered him to wake up and keep her company.

With the evidence now secured and logged in at the lab, Catherine heaves a tired sigh, "Okay... done. This can wait until tomorrow so head home and get some sleep."

"You going home?"

"Yeah, just as soon as I check in at the hospital to check on Sara and Grissom."

"Think he's still at the hospital?"

"What do you think?" She gives him the look he's seen many times. It was the look that told him he didn't even need to bother answering her. He just nods and falls into step beside her as they head out towards the parking lot.

At her car, Catherine stops because Greg is still standing there with her. He shrugs helplessly and shuffles from one foot to the other, "Though maybe I'd ride to the hospital with you... if you don't mind?"

Catherine knows it would be an inconvenience to have to bring him back to his own car after their hospital visit. It would be an even bigger inconvenience to drive him home to this apartment in south Vegas and then return to her own home in Seven Hills. They were both too tired to debate the issue and it wouldn't be the first time Greg crashed in her guest room after a particularly rough case.

"Don't expect me to fix breakfast... or lunch. I plan to sleep in."

She opens her door and jerks her head towards the passenger side before slipping into the seat of her Mercedes Kompressor, two-seater convertible. Greg rushes around and hops in without even bothering to open the door. The engine growls as she gives him an indulgent smile and steps on the gas.

At the hospital, they find Sara's room after a quick stop at the nurse's station in the emergency room. They know most of the night staff from frequent visits there during the course of their jobs so no one cares when they slip upstairs, long after visiting hours have ended for the day.

Greg holds open the room door and allows Catherine to enter first, mainly because he always tried to be a gentleman, but also because he wasn't sure he could face the scene inside first. They find Sara lying in bed, looking much better than the last time they saw her. She is still wearing the head and neck brace, but the nursing staff cleaned her up after she was admitted and placed in this room. She appears to be sleeping peacefully and the hum and beep of the monitors lull them into believing everything is all right.

Catherine sees Grissom flopped back awkwardly in a chair at the side of her bed, his body sprawled out and his head resting on the back in the closest approximation he can find to a bed. She smiles at his vulnerable appearance, then reaches out to gently run her fingers over his upper arm. Her gentle caress does the trick since she knew Grissom was a very light sleeper. He jerks slightly and his head comes up, instantly scanning the bed for any sign of distress.

Grissom shoves himself back into the chair and sits up straighter with a soft groan as he runs his hands down over his face to wipe away the last shroud of sleep. He gives Catherine and Greg a half wave, not wanting to speak as he stands up and motions them back outside.

Grissom stretches his stiff back by twisting his upper body to the left, then to the right and they all hear the popping as his spine re-aligns itself. "So, how'd it go out there?"

"To say the medical examiner is not up to Doc Robbins' standards would be a huge understatement." Greg rolls his eyes as he recalls the long wait only to have the man arrive in a fishing vest and cap. "We waited three hours for him to get there because apparently he had his boat out on Lake Mead fishing."

"He made up for it though, Greg, right? He spent all of what? Two minutes examining the body before he authorized us to drag the truck up onto the parking lot and remove the remains?"

"Yeah, and he didn't even stick around. One of the ambulances transported the body back to his morgue to be examined... 'at a later date', as the old fart put it." Greg was clearly disgusted with the small town medical examiner's work ethic.

"Don't be too hard on him Greg. After all, it wasn't anything more than a traffic fatality to him."

"Speaking of that... how is Sara?" Catherine was tired and all this talk about the case could wait until tomorrow night.

"I don't know, Cath. She's been sedated since they got her here. Doctor Benson said she has a severe concussion, a broken right ulna and he's not sure about any spinal trauma yet."

"Why not?! Gees, Grissom, with all of the advances in medicine today..."

"Greg, calm down. They don't know the extent of her mobility because she was still completely unresponsive when they brought her in. No pain responses, no reflexes, no responses. They won't know if she can feel or move anything until she's able to respond to their questions. Until then they have to operate under the assumption she has spinal damage until she's able to tell them otherwise."

He can see that this news is as disturbing to them as it was to him, but there isn't anything he can do about it. He places a hand on both of their shoulders as he once again becomes the boss. "Go home... both of you. You need sleep and there isn't anything more that can be done here."

"What about you?"

"I'll be here until further notice. Catherine I'm going to be relying on you to finish up this case... you know I'm hands off on it anyway. I've already talked to Eckley and he's putting a body on our team until further notice to help out."

If they weren't so damned tired, they would have argued with him about his own lack of sleep, but instead they just nod tiredly and shuffle back towards the elevators. Grissom watches them go for a moment, then makes his way to the nurse's station where he finds the head nurse, Jean Dubois, pouring him a cup of fresh coffee.

"Just finished brewing a new pot, Grissom. Here you go."

"You're an angel, Jean." He takes the cup and stands there sipping it thankfully. Jean stands on her side of the counter and sips her own cup. "Don't know how long I was asleep, but doesn't look like she's moved at all."

"She's heavily sedated, Grissom. She won't be doing any moving for the next twelve hours, at least. Dr. Benson said he wanted to wean her off the sedative tomorrow morning to see if she's any more alert by the time he makes his rounds at noon."

There is no need to comment on the possibilities that it wasn't the sedatives keeping her in such an inert state. The worry was clearly visible in both their eyes as they exchange a quick glance and then return to sipping their coffee.

* * *

By noon the next day, Sara's sedation had worn off, but it had done nothing to relieve the worried tension in the room as Dr. Benson stood at her bedside. He leaned in a bit closer, flicking his small penlight across her eyes one at a time to gauge the contraction time of her pupils. They appeared to be contracting to light at a normal rate and consistently between both eyes. That was a good indicator she didn't have serious head trauma.

"Well, your eyes seem to be responding normally, Sara. Now we just need to figure out what's going on with the rest of you."

Grissom stood back, watching the examination and feeling somewhat uncomfortable with the way Dr. Benson was carrying on his one-sided conversation with Sara. He was well versed in the mind's ability to see, hear and understand what was going on around it even when the body appeared to be comatose. It was more on a personal level that he was uneasy... this was his Sara. Grissom was shocked to realize it was jealousy he was feeling.

Dr. Benson now uncovers Sara's right side, being careful to ensure her gown covered her body appropriately in the process. He then removed his small rubber mallet from his pocket and slid his hand behind her shoulder. He used his mallet to gently tap on her nerve bundles all the way from her neck to the top of her right shoulder. The first few taps brought negative results, but then on the fourth tap, a bit harder her fingers jumped in response. A smile twitched at the corner of Dr. Benson's mouth as he continued his monologue with his patient.

"Good, Sara... better than last night. Let's try your knee reflexes now." He turns his attention to her right leg as he slips his hand under the joint and gently bends her knee up a bit. Then he rapped the rubber mallet across the front of Sara's knee. Nothing. He rapped it once more, harder this time and as before, nothing. A third harder strike still brought no response and Grissom was just about to tell him that was enough when the mallet bounced off her knee a fourth time and her lower leg jerked abruptly in response.

"Now I see what's going on, Ms. Sidle. You're just being a bit stubborn, aren't you?" He looks up at Grissom and gives him a wink as he moves around to the left side of Sara's bed.

He repeats his tests on this side and as before, Sara doesn't respond to the first couple of raps from the mallet, but when he increases the pressure of each hit, her limb finally jumps in response. When he is done, Dr. Benson moves the mallet up to the base of Sara neck, bouncing the mallet off her in a line from her neck to the top of her shoulder. Her left arm twitched several times to this stimulus. Dr. Benson pulled the covers back up over her lower body puts his mallet back in his pocket. He then picks up her left hand and flattens it out over his own palm. Using his other hand, he pinches the nail bed of one finger under his thumb nail until her hand twitches.

He lets her arm relax back to the mattress as he leans in to look directly into her seemingly sightless eyes. He manipulates her hand until her fingers are curled around his two fingers and gave Sara a new instruction in a slow, clear voice.

"Sara, can you squeeze my hand? Squeeze my fingers, for me." He repeats this a few times before he feels her fingers flutter against his skin. It was barely there, but a wide smile appears on his face as he continues to coach his patient. "Good girl. Okay, now can you squeeze my fingers with your right hand?"

He quickly moves his fingers into the circle of her right hand and waits, but there is no response. He asks a second time, but still no response. He stands back up and keeps his voice in a calm, happy tone as he carries on his conversation with her. "Okay, that's understandable. Your right arm is fractured so it may hurt to move that hand. We'll try that one again tomorrow, all right? You get some rest now."

He pats her arm and adjusts the covers a bit higher before he turns to Grissom and motions with his hand for them to move out into the hallway where they can speak. Grissom's brow knits into a worried frown as he silently follows the doctor out of the room. Once the door is closed behind them, Grissom can't contain his worry any longer.

"What's going on with her Doc? It's not paralysis."

"No, she may have stunned her spinal cord, but it doesn't appear to be permanently damaged. I'm more concerned with her mind, right now. She suffered a severe concussion and as you know there is no standard for how patient's respond to that form of trauma. Everyone is different and in Sara's case..."

He hesitates to voice the idea that have been forming in his brain, knowing how close Grissom was to her. Grissom senses the hesitation and runs a tired hand down over his face as he mentally prepares himself for the bad news. "Doc, just tell me... what is it?"

"Sara has been through a significant trauma... and I'm not talking about the car accident and being ejected. Before that... while she was held by that creep, Sara was put through both mental and physical hell. Her bruises weren't all caused by the accident."

"No, we know that. We saw him beating her on the tape and an eye-witness described her facial bruising to us as well."

"That trauma wasn't just physical, Grissom... it was mental as well."

"So, what are you saying? That Sara's brain is too traumatized to respond?"

"In a way... her brain is injured, but I think in her case; her brain shut down long before the car accident. I think she turned off her responses to what was going on around her. I think it was her mind's way of protecting her sanity from what was happening to her."

Grissom's head drops forward as a strained sigh escapes him and he tries to control his emotions. In his mind he sees the abuse Sara endured, knowing she was waiting for him to come rescue her. He pictures her shrinking into herself in an attempt to protect herself from the abusive words and actions, knowing he couldn't save her. With Dr. Benson's insight now, he realizes Sara's catatonic state is self-induced.

"This type of trauma can't be healed with medicine, Dr. Grissom... only time and feeling safe again will allow her brain to release its hold on her. That won't happen all at once and it won't happen without some intervention."

"I understand. She shut out the abuse and everything else along with it. But Sara is such a strong, independent woman... I can't believe she'd just give up like that."

"She hasn't given up... she's just turned inside herself as a safety mechanism. Battered women do it all the time... so they don't feel the pain as intensely. That's why she only responded to the harder prompts in there. She felt the others too, but she's schooled her responses to not react..."

"...because reacting was to let him win. I remember what she was like the first time I got her away from him. She was like a zombie for quite some time... until she realized she was surrounded by people who liked and respected her. Then she blossomed into the happy, confident woman she's been for the past few years."

"The woman she will be again. You just need to do whatever it was you did the first time to bring her out of that state. Only this time, you need to do it more intensely. Around the clock, constant positive stimulation so her mind doesn't have a chance to dwell on the bad things that happened. Are you up to that?"

Grissom nods firmly, knowing he had no intention of being anywhere else until Sara was back to herself. "I am and so is my team. We won't let Sara down."

Dr. Benson gives Grissom a pat on the shoulder and then heads back to the nurse's station to enter his notes on his examination of her. Grissom stands there thinking for a moment, then glances at his watch to check the time before he calls Catherine and wakes her up.

* * *

When the phone rings, Greg is in the kitchen chopping onions for an omelet. He quickly spins around and dashes down the hallway towards the spare room, thinking it was his phone. When the ringing sounds again from the other side of the hallway, he spins around to face Catherine's door. He hesitates a moment, then opens the door quietly, hoping not to wake Catherine.

He sees the small phone lying on her dresser, just inside the doorway and quickly grabs it. Catherine mumbles something incoherent and turns over, but isn't awake enough to notice the newcomer in her room. Greg quickly shuts the door and flips the phone open as he moves off down the hall so his voice won't wake Catherine further.

"Yeah, hello?"

"Greg? Why are you answering Catherine's phone?"

Greg can just imagine the confusion on Grissom's face and grins in response as he explains, "It was pretty late when we left the hospital last night, Grissom. I crashed in Catherine's guest room so she wouldn't have to drive me back to my car."

"Oh. And that explains why you're answering her phone how?"

"Because she's still sleeping and there is no way in hell I was going to have her woken up before she's ready. You know what she's like when she wakes up early and doesn't get enough sleep."

Grissom is about to say no, he doesn't, but then realizes that is not a conversation he wants to have with his junior field agent right now. Instead, he tries to shove those questions to the back of his mind for a later date and remember why he called in the first place. "Greg... just listen. I have an update on Sara that I need you to relay to the rest of the team, okay?"

Greg listens carefully to Grissom's instructions as he is walking out to the kitchen to continue his preparations for the omelet. He continues chopping with the phone wedged in the crook of his neck and gives the occasional um-hmm response when required. By the time he hangs up, he is whipping up the eggs with some milk and doesn't realize he's being watched.

"Greg..."

He almost drops the bowl as he spins around to see Catherine leaning against the kitchen doorway. She looks disheveled, sleepy and way too sexy in her long silky nightshirt. His eyes quickly scan down over her length, taking in her long tanned legs. He jerks his eyes back to the bowl in his hands and clears his throat as he quickly sets it on the counter. Keeping focused on a task at hand was good... because if he looked at her again he was sure his response would be more than evident through his sweatpants.

Greg snatches up the coffee cup he set out for her and fills it with the fresh, hot brew. She stands there sleepily watching him as he stirs in her flavored creamer and then comes to her with his peace offering for her inner beast. "Here you go... fresh, hot coffee."

With her hands wrapped around the warm mug, Catherine sniffs the fragrant brew and moans softly in appreciation. Greg knows he won't be able to concentrate on anything with her standing here half dressed so he gently places his hands on her shoulders and pulls her away from the wall. His intent was to point her in the direction of her bedroom so she would be out of his sight, but apparently this sleepy version of his normally astute co-worker didn't get the message.

Her free hand snakes out around his waist and draws him in closer as she burrows her face into his chest with another soft sigh. She gives him a lazy hug and Greg's entire body tenses at the contact that was way too intimate for his comfort zone. She holds the embrace for a long moment, then mumbles against his chest, "Thank you, Gregor..."

Before he can respond, Catherine steps back and once again cradles her cup in both hands as she slowly walks back down the hall to her room and closes the door. Greg stands there rooted to the spot, watching until she disappeared from sight before he can even manage a response, "You... you're welcome."

He finally turns back to the kitchen, when the pan on the stove pops and sizzles, telling him it has been left unattended for too long. He hurries back to his task and adjusts the flame before pouring his egg mixture into the pan and hoping the attention needed to complete a decent omelet would remove the tingling memory of Catherine's body pressed against his own.


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

Over the next two days, one of the night shift CSI team stays with Sara around the clock. The plan was to provide constant companionship, talking to her even though she was still not responding to anyone or anything. Greg and Catherine had been the first to arrive and he had volunteered to stay there while Catherine drove Grissom home so he could shower and get some sleep in a real bed. When Greg's shift was due to start at the lab, one of the day shift guys met him at the hospital to spell him off. He then drove the CSI Tahoe back to the lab to work his normal shift and finish processing all the evidence from the Pahrump scene.

The lab was busier than usual with both Grissom and Sara gone. Even though Eckley had promised them a body, day shift was helping to sit with Sara as well so they only got partial coverage at best. Catherine took over Grissom's job of managing the night shift and that kept her plenty busy with the flood of cases that came in. It gave her little time to dwell on the new tension between herself and Greg. She knew it was her own fault. She had been half awake when she instinctively responded the way she normally did at finding a man in her house when she woke up. She had been back in her bedroom with the door close when she realized what she'd done.

She couldn't actually say she was sorry for having hugged Greg. And if she was honest, she'd been pleasantly surprised at the hard wall of muscle underneath his baggy t-shirt. Not that she was interested in her co-worker... she'd just never pictured him in that light before. Greg was always just the goofy young guy that everyone tolerated because he was a genius when it came to DNA. Definitely not the kind of man Catherine was normally attracted to... confident, self-assured, masculine. But, as she ponders her co-worker now from the safety of Grissom's office, didn't that describe Greg too?

He had been a goofy kid when they first hired him and thought he was nothing more than a smart science geek. Now, three years later he had become more mature, more self-assured and he'd certainly lost that goofy kid look. In all honesty, Catherine had to admit, Greg was a handsome man. She sighs and shakes her head, trying to dispel the memory of his body when she hugged him. The last thing she needed was to start seeing Gregor as anything more than her co-worker. And when exactly had she started referring to him as 'Gregor'? She grins to herself as she realizes she's been doing that in her mind for quite some time now. Gregor was her private nickname for him; the European version of his name seemed to fit him now.

* * *

Grissom has spent the most time with Sara, declining offers from the others to spell him more often. He knew he was being selfish, but he wanted it to be his voice Sara heard, his face she saw first when she came out of her self-induced haze. Staying with her for hours on end, talking to her about anything and everything, just to let her hear his voice.

When he ran out of things to say, he began reading to her from a book he found abandoned in the waiting room. It wasn't exactly his kind of book , but he thought the romance novel would be better than reading the news or some sports magazine. When his voice finally began to crack and give out after three days of constant chatter, he flopped back in his chair with the book spread across his thigh. Depression was starting to set in when he looked over at her, lying on her side now that the head and neck brace had been removed.

She was staring directly at him, but he couldn't tell if she actually saw him. He wondered for the millionth time if she would even remember their brief romance. What if all the bad things Nash had done completely obliterated that short twelve hours of perfection? Was her mind back in that time before she left San Francisco? Would she even remember who he was? Had he in fact waited too long... and now it was too late for him to imprint his love on her soul?

Not having the voice left to continue speaking, Grissom hasn't conceded defeat yet. He sits staring at Sara for a long time, wondering how he can get through to her... then he remembers. She had learned sign language for him. She had used that sign language while being held captive by Nash. She may have shut down, but that process, communicating with her hands had come through. Grissom removes the book from his lap and sits up a bit straighter in his chair. Then he focuses on Sara and begins speaking to her with his hands. He starts out slowly, as if teaching her from the beginning.

He goes through the alphabet one by one, making the sign and then softly speaking the letter for her. He goes through the entire alphabet and receives only an occasional eye blink in return. Still grasping on to the hope that Sara was able to communicate, even if she couldn't speak right now, he continues. He lets his mind go blank, using his hands to talk about anything that comes to mind. Not surprising, his thoughts turn to her so he talks about how they met, what he first noticed about her. How impressed he'd been with her intelligence, her humor and her sensitivity to those around her.

The nurse comes in and seems confused at first by Grissom's choice of communication, until he explains that his voice was giving out so he switched to sign language. She just smiled and left the room, wondering if it would do any good. After two hours, Grissom was just finishing a silent explanation of how he'd come to realize his love for her. He sighed tiredly and let his hands fall to his lap, on the verge of giving up. Then in frustration he lifted his hand once more and signed the question, 'Are you paying attention!?' His motions are quick and jerky, expressing his frustration.

He is suddenly shocked when he sees her left hand, which had been resting on the bed beside her lift up and make a loose fist. Her hand then rocked forward at the wrist a couple of times in a nodding fashion... the sign for 'yes'.

Stunned for a moment, Grissom scooted to the edge of his chair, leaning in towards her as he quickly signed again, 'Do you understand me?' Again her fist rocks in reply and the joy is so overwhelming that Grissom can't contain himself. He leaps up to snatch her into a hug as he leans over her bed. A soft moan escapes her at the tight embrace and he is quick to relinquish his hold and step back.

When their eyes meet this time, she isn't staring straight ahead. Her eyes are following him, tracking his movements and making eye contact. Grissom gently strokes his hand over her cheek and speaks to her now verbally. "Oh, God, Sara... you had me so worried."

He feels a sharp stab of disappointment when she just continues to look at him and doesn't respond. Apparently she hadn't regained the gift of speech yet and Grissom tries not to let that dampen his joy at finally getting through to her. He backs off a little further and signs to her that he loves her, but there is no response from her at first. He repeats it again and again, just as she had done it on the last clip of the bank video. Finally Sara's hand moves again, rocking forward to acknowledge him as one corner of her mouth jerks up into a partial smile. Grissom grins back and once again leans in to grab her left hand, drawing it up to his lips for a loud kiss.

It suddenly dawns on him that he should be notifying the doctor of her breakthrough, but at the same time he doesn't want to share this precious moment with anyone else. Grissom pulls his chair over closer and continues to talk to her, asking only those questions she can answer by her one-handed response. After several minutes, her frown indicates she is becoming tired and frustrated so Grissom reluctantly reaches for the call button; knowing his private time with her will have to wait.

By the time they have notified the doctor and he managed to rearrange his schedule to come back and check on Sara's improvement, she is fast asleep. He takes a few minutes to talk to Grissom about what happened, then goes back into her room to see for himself. He gently wakes her up and waits until she blinks several times and then focuses on him.

"Hi, Sara. I'm Dr. Benson. Do you remember me?" He is pleased that her eyes seem to track him as he moves beside her bed, but she doesn't answer him. He looks to Grissom who steps up and signs the question to her. Sara's eyes follow Grissom's hands, then she looks back to Dr. Benson and once again rocks her fist to acknowledge him.

Dr. Benson smiles happily, not caring about her lack of speech right now because she's finally come out of her shell enough to acknowledge the world around her. He asks a few more questions about pain and her condition; each time allowing Grissom to translate. When he does, she then looks back to Dr. Benson and answers with a 'yes' or 'no'. This was progress because it indicated she was competent enough to seek clarification, then give her answer to the appropriate person.

Grissom is still worried about her lack of response to the spoken word, but keeps his concerns to himself until Dr. Benson asks, "Can you hear my voice?"

Grissom waits and when she just stares from one to the other, he signs the question to her. Sara immediately answers, 'no'. This brings a worried sigh from both men as they exchange a glance. Dr. Benson pats her hand and slowly explains, "Not to worry, Sara. You were in an accident and hit your head. Your hearing will return."

Grissom signs his words, translating for him and Sara's frown deepens with mention of the accident. She then answers 'yes', hesitates and then for the first time, signs more than that one word. 'when?'

"She wants to know when, Doc."

"Hard to say. We need to do some more testing now that we know what the problem is." Grissom again translates and Sara's frown eases somewhat as she nods her head this time in response. Dr. Benson pats her hand and waves goodbye before looking to Grissom, "Let's talk outside."

Sara watches them go with a worried look on her face. Grissom gestures that he will be right back before closing the door behind him. Out in the hallway, Dr. Benson asks the question that never occurred to him before now. "Did she have hearing loss before this happened?"

"No. She could hear fine. I have hearing loss... congenital. She learned sign language to be able to speak to me when my hearing finally goes for good."

"Really. That's very strange." He sees Grissom's frown and quickly clarifies his statement. "Not that she would learn sign language... but that she has chosen this method of communication now."

"Do you think there could be some medical reason for her hearing loss? She did have a pretty severe concussion."

"I highly doubt it. The concussion was on the right occipital lobe only. That could possibly have affected the right ear, but not both bilaterally. I'll run the tests on her, but my guess is this may be her mind filtering out what was too painful for her."

"You mean, Nash's verbal abuse?"

"Partly, but in most cases of severely battered women... it isn't only hearing the abuse. Most battered women report the abuse was brought on by things they said, even without knowing what they said that provoked it. Sara's mind has shut off both senses, speech and hearing, in fear of receiving more abuse."

Grissom is shocked into silence and can only nod his understanding to Dr. Benson. He slowly turns away and walks back to Sara's room, but stops short of going inside. He stands in the hallway trying to make sense of what he's just learned He has always had trouble identifying with his emotional side and that translated into how he viewed others as well. He couldn't even remember how many times Catherine had told him he needed to 'pick his head up from the microscope and really see the people around him.'

That fault of his was never more present than at this moment as he tries to comprehend what Dr. Benson was telling him. How could someone lose two of their senses? How could Sara's brain not be able to reason through this as she did with any other puzzle presented to her? Sara was smarter than anyone he'd ever met and yet when faced with the situation she'd just gone through... her mind resorted to some primeval instinct and just shuts off two of its most important survival instincts? He pulls out his cell phone and dials the number he always does when faced with an emotional issue in his life.

"Hey, Cath... is it busy at work? Good, I need to run something by you."

* * *

While waiting for Catherine to arrive, Grissom returns to sit with Sara and thankfully finds her sleeping again. Sleep was always best when recovering from any ailment or injury, but in Sara's case he knew she never really slept well... even on a good day. He wonders now how much of her insomnia was related to her past mental trauma... how much she's been hiding from him and the others all this time. She needed all the sleep she could get in order to get better and he wasn't about to interrupt that.

When the door silently opens an hour later, Grissom is quickly on his feet and moving to stop Catherine from entering and waking Sara. He motions her back outside and after a quick glance at her friend, Catherine complies and steps back into the hallway.

"What's up, Gil?"

"Let's go grab some dinner at the diner across the street and I'll fill you in on the new developments." He takes her arm and leads her back towards the elevators, leaving Sara alone for the first time in three days.

At four in the morning, the little twenty-four hour diner was all but deserted. One old man who'd wondered in off the streets sat sipping his coffee in the far corner, so they had their choice of booths. Grissom chose one in the opposite corner, not wanting to be disturbed by the man's constant chatter with himself or body odor. The waitress lazily approached their table once they were seated.

"What'll it be?"

"Coffee please, two." He looks to Catherine and she doesn't even glance at the menu in front of her before she replies.

"Two BLT's with fries and I'd like cream with my coffee. Thanks."

After the waitress has walked away, Catherine ignores the frown he gives her at presuming to know what he wanted to eat. She just shrugs and rightly guesses, "I'm betting you haven't eaten in the last twelve hours and I don't really care to listen to your dissertation on the quality of meatloaf again."

"It wasn't a dissertation. It was merely a comment on the..." Her raised hand stops him from completing the thought in his defense.

"Talk to me about Sara. Any change?"

He waits as the waitress delivers their coffee and then shuffles back to her post behind the counter. "She's improving... kind of. She's following people with her eyes now and seems to be alert and oriented to everyone around her."

"That's good, right? I mean, yesterday she was staring off into space like a zombie."

"It is good... and she's communicating a little bit." He hesitates to take a long sip of his coffee, then sets the cup down with a sigh, "The problem is... how she's communicating, Cath." Catherine pauses in stirring the cream around in her cup at the tone of his voice. When she meets his eyes he sighs heavily and continues. "She's signing... but only one or two words."

"Signing? As in... like she did on the bank video?" This information takes Catherine by surprise.

"Yes, signing as in ASL. She isn't speaking... and when Dr. Benson examined her we discovered she can't hear our voices either."

"Oh my God... did the accident damage her hearing?"

"He doesn't think so... since the concussion was only in the right occipital lobe. Dr. Benson believes its more complicated than that."

"How could it be more complicated? There has to be a medical explanation, Gil. People don't just suddenly become deaf mutes."

"Apparently in Sara's case they do. He thinks its related to her mental trauma of being abused by Nash. She's shut off her voice and hearing as a defense mechanism against the abuse. For lack of a better term, it's all in her head."

Catherine spends a long moment digesting this information as she lifts her cup and sips the hot brew. Then setting it back on the table, she gives Grissom her full attention, "Wow. That's pretty... deep... psychologically I mean. What's Benson doing about that?"

"He's scheduled some tests to make sure there isn't something clinically wrong with her hearing. Not sure what that entails, but I know a new MRI will be done for sure."

"So... what are you going to do about this?" Catherine knows there is more to Gil's desire to talk than discussing the medial issues.

"I... I don't know, Catherine. I'm the only one who can communicate with her right now. At first I was thrilled she was responding at all, but now... I'm scared. What if she can't come back to us as the same Sara we knew?" He again stops speaking when the waitress brings their dinners.

"What the hell kind of question is that, Grissom? You love her, right?" He nods quickly to confirm this. "Okay, then we move on. It's no different from last year when you thought you were losing your hearing finally. Did you think we'd all stop loving you when that happened? Did you think your world would come to an end?"

"Actually I did." He holds up his hand to stop her angry response to that comment. "Let me explain. It wasn't that the world would actually end... but my life, as I knew it would have. Not being able to hear would have ended many friendships I have... people who are friends now would struggle to communicate; then they'd just drift away. I saw it happen with my mother, Catherine."

"Okay, I'll buy that, but those aren't your real friends if they would do that to you."

"I know that. Then I had to consider my livelihood. What would I do if I couldn't be a CSI? You and I both know you need all of your senses to be successful in this job."

"You could have become the frustrated academic we all know lurks inside of you." She grins at his scowl her teasing brings out.

"True, but what about Sara? What if she never regains her voice? What if she never regains her hearing?" He pauses to take a bite of his sandwich, realizing for the first time how hungry he is. "I used to believe she was a well grounded person who had as much self-confidence as she did intelligence."

"Yeah, me too. Sara has always been able to fall back on her analytical mind, even when she was in a situation that made her uncomfortable." Catherine picks the bacon out of her sandwich and nibbles on it. "So you think her confidence was all an act? All these years she's just been this scared little girl inside?"

"Last week I would have said no... right now, I believe that's true. Think about it. She's always had trouble sleeping, she's super vigilant, the way some cases upset her so much and of course, no close relationships."

"Until recently, yes. That all changed for her last week, Grissom and you know it. There's no way she doesn't have that in her mind. And there's no way she'd let what she has with you slip away... not after all you two went through to make it happen."

"But what if she doesn't!? What if she blocks it from her mind and can only remember the horrible relationship she had with Nash?"

"Then you make her see the good, Gil. You make her see how much you love her... and you don't stop until she believes it."

Grissom stares down at his plate, letting the worried thoughts tumble around in his mind. He hears Catherine's words, but he doesn't feel as confident that he can do this. "It was only a few hours that we shared together... what if that's not enough? What if I really did wait too long?"

"Grissom, for once in your life..."

"I know, I know... look up and see the people around me." He sighs in frustration as he finishes her thought.

"NO... for once in your life, don't act with your head. Act with your heart... let your emotions dictate your actions and you won't go wrong."

Grissom brings his gaze up to meet the fiery green eyes of his friend and realizes once again she's managed to give him good, sound advice. He finally nods his head as a grin pulls up the corner of his mouth. "All right, but I don't want any smart-ass comments from you if I act like some love-sick geek."

"Hell, Grissom... you've been acting that way for the past three years. Why should this be any different?" She gives him a wink and returns her attention to her dinner. When she looks up again he is still sitting there smiling at her and she points to his plate with a gentle chide, "Now shut up and eat your dinner."

He chuckles and once again turns his attention to his plate, wondering what he'd ever do without Catherine's wisdom and unending concern for him.


End file.
